Persons living with disabilities (PWDs) have called on the Gombe State government to always give them at least five percent slots in every new employment in the state civil service.
Gombe State chairman of Joint National Association for Persons With Disability, Mr Ishiyaku Adamu made the plea in an exclusive chat with LEADERSHIP.
He said persons with various disabilities constitute 15 percent of the population, hence the need for the government to give them special consideration during employment to enable them to become useful members of the society.
According to him, many people with disabilities are liability in the society because they are not given attention in terms of education and job opportunities saying if the bill on persons with disability protection is passed, it will address the menace.
“Persons with disabilities over the years have faced serious neglect and lack of opportunities in almost all aspects of life. Most people with disabilities are not educated. There is a relationship between poverty and disability. Most of the parents of people with disabilities are not opportune to cater for their wards and are not able to take them to school.
“Even those that are opportune don’t see it as a priority. When the government steps in by providing free and compulsory education at all levels for persons with disability, that will go a long way in making them productive members of the society rather than them being a liability to the community. The same thing with employment opportunities.
“Persons with disability, some that managed to go through the rigorous education system despite their disability are not given priority in terms of employment.
“So, I think by giving them employment, it will go a long way to achieve two things; number one, it will augment their economic status. It will also send a signal to other people with disabilities who are not interested in going to school to pick a challenge and go to school because they know at the end of the day, they have something to do,” he said.
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