NEDC Empowers Bauchi PWDs To Curb Street Begging

The North East Development Commission (NEDC), has empowered 100 persons with disabilities (PWDs) with vocational skills and start-up capital in a renewed effort to reduce street begging and promote self-reliance.

The programme was jointly organised with the Bauchi State Agency for Persons with Disabilities and supported beneficiaries with N44 million to enhance their economic independence.

The state governor, Bala Mohammed, represented by the State Head of Civil Service, Barr Muhammad Sani Umar, said the state is committed to improving the welfare of persons with disabilities and ensuring their inclusion in all empowerment and development initiatives.

“This empowerment is not just training; it is a strategy to end street begging by giving persons with disabilities the tools to live with dignity,” he said.

He said that applicants with special needs who applied for the 2025 state recruitment exercise would be considered for inclusion.

NEDC’s assistant manager for Logistics and Stabilisation, Mallam Abubakar Sadiq, said the commission remains committed to supporting vulnerable groups through skills acquisition and stabilisation programmes across the region.

The executive secretary of Bauchi State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Brisca Joram Aaron, applauded the governor’s continued commitment to disability inclusion, urging beneficiaries to make use of their new skills to uplift their communities.