President Bola Tinubu has approved the release of five per cent of all federal government’s social intervention programmes to senior citizens.
Emem Omokaro, the director-general of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), disclosed this in an interview on Sunday in Abuja.
Ms Omokaro, speaking on the one-year anniversary of the Tinubu-led administration, expressed gratitude to the President for the gesture, stressing that it would go a long way in addressing the challenges of the elderly.
She said the interventions would be tailored to various programmes designed by the NSCC, which had considered the need assessments of senior citizens.
Ms Omokaro said it would ensure that older people are catered for and included in their capacity.
“I am using this opportunity to say that the NSCC will be very happy to see that five per cent is applied to the programmes that are already on the ground.
“The older people have already been organised, and some percentage can go into our caregiving training and certification care for older people. Some percentage of that should go into our multi-purpose cooperatives for older people, building our ‘One Community One Senior Centre’ project for older people.
“This will help to ensure that the social investment programme will reach the diverse population of older people,” Ms Omokaro said.
Ms Omokaro also mentioned that in the population of older persons, there are women and persons with disabilities, noting that the centre had developed programmes to ensure that they were not discriminated against.
The NSCC boss stressed that the agency had already initiated programmes to improve the quality of life of Senior Citizens in the country.
She said the NSCC had yet to access the five per cent intervention pledge due to restructuring in the sector.
“I am still discussing it with my ministry, and I am still trying to get it and the National Social Investment Agency itself. I know there are still some restructuring going on there, so there was a pulse,” she said.
(NAN)