By James Emejo
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Mariam Katagum, yesterday reiterated the federal government’s commitment to supporting people with disabilities in the country.
Katagum pointed out that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led- administration was passionate about the well being of people with disabilities when she received in audience a delegation from the Network of the Disabled Women (NDW), which was led by the National Secretary of NDW, Ms. Mary Omoyeme Musa, in her office in Abuja,.
She observed that Buhari’s passion for people with disabilities that motivated the setting up of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to address their various challenges and mainstream them for better inclusion in the policies and programmes of the government.
Katagum said a lot is being currently by the federal government to support people with disabilities citing, the allocation of five per cent in every track of the MSMEs Survival Fund, meant to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on MSMEs to people with living with disabilities.
In a statement issued by the ministry’s Assistant Director, Information, Mrs. Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, the minister said that the Federal Executive Council ((FEC) had further ensured that every memo on new office building that came to the council for consideration must accommodate relevant structures that would serve people living with disabilities.
She also explained that the ministry has a gender unit with the mandate to address issues relating to women, especially in business and trade with due consideration for women living with disabilities.
She urged the delegation to leverage on the training opportunities of the ministry through its parastatals, particularly the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) among others, adding that the fund had about sixty vocational skills training with certification and starter packs.
The minister, however, acknowledged the efforts of the network and advised that a lot of advocacy programmes should be carried out among their various groups in order to tap into various government’s policies and programmes.
Earlier, Musa had explained that the purpose of their visit was to introduce the organisation and seek for collaboration with the ministry, particularly in areas of mainstreaming into developmental programmes, training in business and trade opportunities among others.
