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Restate call on President to appoint Tejuosho as Humanitarian Affairs Minister
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
A passionate appeal has gone to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fill the vacant position of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation without further delay and appoint a woman into the office.
The appointment, according to the groups of persons living with disabilities (PWDs), would tremendously help to strengthen the government’s commitment to ensuring equal opportunities and support for all members of the society.
The groups of PWDs spoke at a press conference addressed by the Chairman of Northern Youth Disabilities Forum, (NYDF), Mr Mohammed Musa Zaria, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The groups of PWDs across the six geo-political zones, in collaboration with association of widows in Nigeria, addressed the press in commemoration of June 12 and ‘Democracy Day’.
They lauded the federal government for the prime attention currently being accorded the PWDs and the vulnerable, as well as appointments being offered them across boards.
They thanked President Tinubu for recognizing June 12, as democracy day, and for extolling the late Chief MKO Abiola, the symbol of the June 12 struggle, for his contribution to democracy.
In his remarks at the press conference, the Chairman of NYDF, Musa Zaria, thanked Tinubu for prioritizing issues concerning PWDs and expressed gratitude to the government for making them number one under the renewed hope agenda, saying the President is fulfilling his mandate and their (PWDs’) lives are changing for the better.
The group also lauded the President for standing with the PWDs in all their activities before and even after elections, especially in the area of budgetary increase for the National Commission for the PWDs, which he added was the largest in Africa.
He disclosed that the Commission’s budget has been increased by over 500 percent under the present government of Tinubu.
Harping on the pertinent need for a new Minister for the Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation ministry, Musa Zaria said it (the ministry) belongs to PWDs and the vulnerable in the society, adding: “We have not been okay for some time now owing to the vacant position in the ministry.
“The position requires someone with leading efforts aimed at alleviating poverty and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations across the country.
“Our request was borne out of the critical importance of having a leader, who understands and prioritizes the challenges faced by PWDs and marginalized groups in the country.”
The group, which had earlier endorsed Dr. Halimat Adenike Tejuosho for the position, further urged the president to consider her credibility, humanitarian activities, track record and how all those things have impacted of the lives of widows, PWDs, orphans and other vulnerable people over the years.
According to them, “Tejuosho has impacted a lot on the lives of the people and used her resources to cater for the less privileged, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons and widows”.
They called on the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as the mother of the nation, to help convey their message to the President on the issue of appointing Dr Halima Tejuosho as the next Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation without any further delay.
“If this request is granted, we will continue to give more support to the President and mobilize many others to do same”, the PWDs assured.
They however cautioned that a man must not be appointed as the Minister in charge of the Ministry.
