FG allocates 10% of social interventions to PwDs – Minister

The Federal Government has allocated 10 per cent of its various social interventions to Persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

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Dr Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation disclosed this in Abuja while inaugurating various empowerment programmes sponsored by the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD).

She said President Bola Tinubu had directed that the disability community be given priority in all government intervention programs.

”Mr President has instructed that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation should dedicate 10 per cent of all humanitarian and poverty alleviation interventions to persons with disabilities. Today is the flag-off of the empowerment of people living with disability.

“Already, we are into conditional cash transfers for 15 million households; out of this figure, 10 per cent is reserved for the disability community. So, we are happy and very proud of the disability commission for pushing on all fronts to ensure that the Renewed Hope Agenda is achieved. We are providing POS machines to persons with disability across Nigeria so that they can be the last-mile distributors of the funds to people living in villages and hard-to-reach areas,” she said.

The minister also announced the donation of N100,000 to each beneficiary of the POS machines to help them kick-start their businesses.

”We have also provided not just the POS machines, but the N100,000 capital for them. We also gave N130,000 each as a scholarship to some physically challenged students in tertiary institutions. Beyond this, we have also been able to bring officials of the Corporate Affairs Commission here to carry out proper registration of their businesses. About N20 million has been released for that purpose. Rather than begging, the PwDs will be running businesses that will empower them, their society, and everyone around them. We are having several other interventions, like giving out grants to associations that deal with disabilities,” she said.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Disabilities, Mr Bashiru Dauda, assured Nigerians that his team would ensure an effective legal framework that would protect the rights of PwDs in Nigeria.

The event featured the presentation of scholarship awards to students living with disabilities.

VANGUARD/Wumi