JALINGO, AUGUST 5, 2016 – Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Aisha Alhassan has directed principal staff of the ministry to construct wheel chair ramps at the national secretariat of persons with disability.The secretariat of Joint National Association of People with Disabilities (JNAPD) is located at the first floor of Gambo Sawaba block in the National Women Development Centre, Abuja.
Alhassan gave the directive at an advocacy visit to persons living with disabilities in Jalingo as part activities for her one week visit to the state.
She said constructing ramps at the secretariat frontage would enable the physically challenged to have easy access to the block.
“I have directed the directors of the ministry here with us to construct a ramp in your national secretariat. I know exactly how you feel because temporarily, I am one of you now.
“I also told them to relocate the office to the ground floor for you to easily access it. As it is now, the building is not friendly to persons with disabilities,’’ the minister said.
Alhassan advised the physically challenged to form cooperative groups of not less than 10 and not more than 20 women in a group to be qualified to access the Federal Government’s N150 billion Women Entrepreneurship Fund.
She said the fund was released exclusively for women, assuring them that similar fund for men with disabilities would soon be released by the Federal Government.
Alhassan urged the state government to conduct a survey of persons with disabilities for effective planning and execution of programmes affecting the group.
Earlier, the state chairman of JNAPD, Alhaji Sadiq Jalingo, expressed concern about the plight of physically challenged.
He noted that those who used wheel chairs were having difficulties in attending meetings at the secretariat.
He appealed to Alhassan to upgrade facilities in the state special education schools at Garbabi and Mutum-Biyu.
The highlights of the visit included the donation of 30 bags of rice, 25 wheel chairs and cartons of soap, among others, to the association by the minister.
