Fred Itua, Abuja
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), yesterday, revealed that it has integrated over 700 ex-military personnel, who had their limbs amputated and eventually dismissed from the service as a result of Boko Haram insurgency.
The NCPD, which revealed this during its 2021 budget defence at the National Assembly, pleaded for an upward review of its budget to meet the increasing demand of its capital budget.
Executive Secretary of the Commission, James Lalu explained that there were about 31.5 million Nigerians living with disability and the number keeps increasing on a daily basis, especially with the recent challenges facing the nation.
The Executive Secretary warned that failure to address this issue would place serious burden on the government as it would have to grapple with the challenge of giving out stipends that will never achieve any lasting solution.
The budget increase, he said, will take care of education, healthcare needs and livelihood of people with disabilities, pointing out that a lot of disabled persons take to begging on the street when they cannot meet with their basic needs.
Lalu also notified the Senate committee that in its 2021 budget, the commission intends to open zonal, states and local government offices to reach out to all its members living in the rural areas.
Committee on Special Duties, chaired by Yusuf A. Yusuf, urged the commission to create a database of all its members across the country and design empowerment training for them especially those in the rural areas for a positive impact.
The committee promised to sit down and take a critical look at their budget proposal and revert back.