The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been requested to provide more palliatives to people living with disabilities, PWD in Lagos State.
This was as the chairman of the Nigerian Association of the Blind, Lagos State Chapter, Lukman Salami, lamented what he described as an unfair treatment to his members during the distribution of palliatives in the state.
Lukman said the association members were only provided with 10 palliative packs by the Lagos State Government while they have over five hundred registered members. He wondered how possible it was to make such unequal distribution.
The chairman of the Blind was speaking during the celebration of this year’s International White Cane and Safety Day with the theme “White Cane Day, Safeguarding the Movement of the Blind,” when he made the statement.
The event was marked with an eight-kilometre walk from Owoseni Primary School, Oshodi, to the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos.
According to Lukman, although the government had included people with disabilities among those who would benefit from the petrol subsidy removal palliatives, members of the NAB had yet to receive anything from the Federal Government.
He said, “the Lagos State Government gave me 10 packs of palliative to distribute to my members, who are over 500,” Salami said.
“I wonder how they want me to distribute the 10 packs to this crowd. I can tell you that more than half of our registered members are not here today. I do not know how to share it.
“If you count the number of elderly people at this event, it is more than the number of packs given to us,” he added, noting that most employers engaged PWDs out of sympathy.
“Most employers engage People with Disabilities because they want to show that they are inclusive. These days, people want to align with the direction the world is going,” he remarked.
Also, the coordinator of the Lagos West Chapter of the association, Mrs Christiana Akinrinde, added that very few members of the NAB had received the palliatives.
“Members of the NAB, who are almost 500, have received only 10 packs of the palliative,” she noted.