The Albinism Foundation says it is ready to mainstream the salaries of some sign language interpreters to ensure full implementation of the recent directives of the Federal government to television stations in the country to include sign language interpreters during news presentations.
President of the foundation, Jake Epelle, said this at a press conference in Abuja recently.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had on October 14 during the Annual Lecture of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) titled “Imperatives of Disability Inclusion in National Transformation”, said he would direct the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to compel television stations in the country to feature sign language interpreters during their major news presentation.
The minister’s decision was sequel to a complaint by a participant at the event that the deaf and hard of hearing community had been excluded by the media, as they only stared at pictures during news hour without knowing what they were saying.
However, Epelle said they have decided to take the burden of paying some sign interpreters that would be sent to some television stations to avoid the excuse by such stations about salary payment for interpreters.
He thanked the minister for his bold step in taking the decision. He also commended the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) for including a sign language interpreter in its news@7pm.
“Our brothers and sisters in the deaf community and hard of hearing have lost out on information for a very long time. So we are grateful that the Minister has made that announcement. Now it’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and work to make sure we see implementation,” Epelle said.