The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission,NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere has denied the allegation against the commission bordering on negligence by the people living with disabilities under the aegis of the Joint National Association of Persons Living
with disabilities (JNAPLD).
The hasty denial came immediately after the Secretary General of the association Prince Akaninyene Isidore alleged that NDDC has refused to recognize and include them in the scheme of things.
Represented by the In-house consultant of the commission, Patrick Usen, at a one-day dissemination meeting on NDDC Interventions in Akwa Ibom State held on Thursday at the EMJM hotels Uyo and organized by Policy Alert, the Managing Director said that
NDDC had remained fair to all manners of people including the disabled.
He said that the Commission awarded contract to people living with disabilities some couple of months ago to supply equipments for their(physically challenged) use.
He further said that the MD went ahead to train them in their chosen areas of interest.
Usen however identified disunity as a challenge bedevilling the group. According to him, “the problem of the group is that they are not unified they come in fragments. There is no unified umbrella association of the people living with disabilities. The Managing director is very passionate about the people living with disabilities.”
Challenging the disables not to come for handouts, Usen urged them to come up with sustainable policies that would change their narratives.
Speaking earlier, the Secretry General of the Association of the disabled alleged that the organization has not been carried along in the development agenda of the
commission.
Isiodore said despite the United Nations Visions and the federal government constitutional
provisions for the rights of the people living with disabilities, NDDC has consistently neglected the organization.
“We are aware that NDDC has a mandate to take care of the disables, but it is not doing it, we are not employed and not being attended to. We had chapters in all the
36 states of the federation, and the various state governments acknowledged us.
“But the leadership of The NDDC sees us as beggarly people who need charity. The issue
of disabilities is a development issue not a charitable issue. They should stop
giving us fishes and show us how to fish ourselves” Isidore said.
He lamented that NDDC directors are benefiting from the crisis created by misguided persons in the organization.
However, the Executive Director of Policy Alert, Mr. Tijah Bolton-Akpan,in his presentation entitled “
Summary of Citizens Participation on NDDC intervention in the state’ said though the NDDC has not done very well in some aspects yet they have done well in others.
