The People Living With Disabilities in Jigawa State have called on the governor, Malam Umar Namadi, to give them special consideration in the ongoing federal government palliative distribution in the state.
This call was made by the chairman of the Jigawa State chapter of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), Honourable Adamu Shuaibu, in an exclusive interview with the Online Tribune in Dutse. He decried how people living with disabilities were excluded from the list of 1,000 or 1,100 beneficiaries in the 27 local government areas of the state.
The JONAPWD chairman appealed to both the state and federal governments to make special provisions for their members in the ongoing palliative distribution, considering their unique conditions.
Honourable Adamu Shuaibu explained, “The governor of Jigawa State is making efforts regarding inclusion. However, when it comes to implementation, in many cases, persons with disabilities are left behind or completely ignored, especially in the case of palliative distribution.”
ALSO READ: Oil theft: Harsh punishment awaits culprits, Doguwa warns
The chairman alleged, “The problem we have with the palliative distribution is that even if Governor Malam Namadi gives directives, those responsible for implementation do not follow them most of the time.”
According to him, “When we observed this, our association wrote to the chairman of the palliative distribution, who is the deputy governor of the state, Engineer Aminu Usman, requesting his intervention for special consideration of our members. We asked for a formula that would allocate a certain percentage at the local government level, ensuring a specific quantity for our members for easy follow-up.”
“Despite this, on Friday, 17/8, another distribution was launched, but to the best of my knowledge, none of our members (PWDs) benefited in Dutse Local Government, which happens to be my home local government area. As a journalist who covered the launch, did you see any person living with disabilities, male or female, receiving aid?”
Hon. Shuaibu maintained, “I received many calls from our members from almost all the 27 local government areas, especially Dutse, where the exercise was flagged off. They were asking if we were part of it. I told them to be patient, as we have yet to be contacted.”
He added, “We had earlier conveyed our complaint to the Honourable Speaker of the State Assembly, and he promised to intervene and speak to the Honourable Commissioner for Special Duties. I have since sent a reminder to the Speaker about his promise, and we are waiting for his response. I am confident it will be positive.”
The JONAPWD chairman further stated, “I am also trying to reach the Special Assistant to the governor on disability matters to find out if there are any arrangements. If not, he should try to make it happen as soon as possible.”
He expressed his association’s appreciation to the governor and the government of Jigawa State for the implementation of the Jigawa State Disabilities Law and for considering his members in the recent teacher recruitment.
