The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, says the Federal Government has developed the National Policy on Ageing and also established the National Senior Citizens Centre to meet the challenges of older persons in the country.
Farouq said hunger, poverty as well as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the government’s decision to tailor efforts at including the vulnerable population.
The minister said this in Abuja at the maiden dialogue with the Senior Citizens Forum, recently, which was organised to unravel major problems facing the elderly in the country.
The minister said that with the establishment of the centre the concerns of older persons were no longer handled in a “discretionary and arbitrary manner as the case used to be.
“They are now addressed comprehensively, as detailed in the National Senior Citizens Act and the National Policy on Ageing, which is soon to be operationalized by NSCC. The now instituted Older Persons Safety-net Program which targets very poor and vulnerable older persons, attest to the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to age-inclusive development,” she said.
“In developing the National Policy on Ageing and establishing the National Senior Citizens Center, the present administration ensured that the very essential institutions, systems and mechanisms to facilitate the quality of life, economic and social participation of older persons are guaranteed and that the challenges of older persons and the opportunities that accrue from meeting these challenges are integrated into Nigeria’s development plans,” the minister said.
She urged older persons in the country to make inputs and participate in the maiden dialogue with National Senior Citizens.
The Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre Dr. Emem Omokaro applauded the Senior Citizens for their resilience “in the face of hardship, suffering, neglect and abuse over the years. She also thanked the Minister for her passionate efforts.”
“Today we have the National Policy on Ageing and the Senior Citizens Centre. The next thing is that we need to talk. This dialogue is important so that senior citizens will know their rights and what is being handed to them by the law. There is no way we can identify the needs of senior citizens and cater to those needs as directed by the act without forging an engagement mechanism,” Omokaro said.
Senior Citizens representing various categories such as the urban and rural, the military and paramilitary as well as the public and private sectors attended the event.
The Senior Citizens Centre and the National Policy on Ageing were established to take care of the social welfare of older persons including leisure, health care, pension, rehabilitation, income security, supplementary income, skills development among other social protection safety nets.