TQM report,
The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAWD), on Tuesday, commended Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State for donating the N10 million awarded to him as damages by a Kaduna High Court to the state Disability Affairs Trust Fund.
Chairman of the association in the state, Mr Suleman Abdulazeez, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
NAN reports that Justice Mairo Muhammad of Kaduna State High Court had, on Monday, ordered Today Publishing Company, publishers of The Union Newspaper, to tender an apology and pay N10 million for defaming El-Rufai.
The governor had approached the court in 2015 after the newspaper published false claims about his asset declaration, with Today Publishing Company Ltd. as the defendant.
Special Adviser to El-Rufai on Media and Communication, Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, confirmed the donation of the N10 million damages awarded by the court to the Kaduna State Disability Trust Fund.
Abdulazeez, who lauded the gesture said that the governor had donated the amount to the Fund, as provided for in the state Disability Law which took effect from April.
According to him, El-Rufai is the first person to contribute to the trust fund, describing it as “commendable and very encouraging” to the disability community in the state.
“This donation is a clear sign that the governor is passionate about implementing the provisions of the law, with a view to giving dignity to the lives of persons with disabilities in the state.”
Alhaji Aliyu Yakassai, Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Disability Affairs Board, said that the gesture was part of efforts to operationalise the funds to cater for the needs of persons with disabilities.
Yakassai explained that the governor made the donation after the Commissioner of Humanitarian Services and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba, had presented the trust fund for approval, as provided in the law, before the state Executive Council on Monday.
The executive secretary said that the presentation to the council was to set in motion the process of implementing the provisions of the law.
He added that El-Rufai’s gesture was very commendable and a good omen for better things to come for the disability community.
Yakassai said that the trust fund would soon be launched, adding that the state government would provide the seed fund and mobilise individuals and corporate bodies as well as domestic and international donor agencies to contribute.
NAN reports that Part III of the state disability law provides for the establishment of disability affairs trust fund to be managed by a Board of Trustees.
The purpose of the fund, according to the law, shall be for the advancement of the cause of persons with disabilities in the state. (NAN)
