The Director-General, National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), Dr Emem Omokaro, has described First Lady Oluremi Tinubu as a beckon of hope to elderly persons in the country.
Omokaro, who disclosed on Friday in Abuja, said Oluremi’s commitment to elderly person in her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) indicated she is a true representative of senior citizens in the society.
She also said that the gesture justified the confidence of Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu’s Administration would ensure zero tolerance to discrimination against Older Persons.
The D-G assured Nigerians of her determination to partner with relevant institutions to ensure proper mainstreaming of older persons into the Social Investment Programmes.
”This will include Health, Social Care and other laudable initiatives including the realization of One Community, One Senior Centre Project for older persons across the nation,” she said.
Omokaro also urged state governments to expedite action towards domestication of the National Senior Citizens Centre Act 2017 and the National Policy on Ageing.
She said that the decentralized and inclusive nature of the RHI template should encourage States and Local Governments to ensure equity and age-specific responses.
”Especially, during planning, budgeting and implementation of health and social services to meet the needs of different categories of people without leaving older persons behind,” she said.
The D-G also commended the National Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Ageing for its various interventions for the betterment of the elderly persons.
According to her, we must thank you for being a ladder through which the centre used in reaching out and ensure participation of older persons even in hard-to-reach areas.
”You also helped in the selection process of the 250 older persons that will benefit from the RHI across states of the Federation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first lady had allocated 250 slots for older persons to benefit from the RHI across the country.
