The Trade Union Congress, TUC, of Nigerian Women Commission, under the auspices of Coalition Against Gender Based Violence and Harassments, has approached the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, for collaboration on job provision for the physically challenged in Nigeria.
Led by the national chairman, Comrade Hafsat Shaibu, the women wing of TUC made passionate appeal to the NDE to ensure that more of the people living with disability are considered for skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development.
That, she said, was to provide them with decent employment in order to forestall street begging and other social vices.
Her words: “TUC, as labour centre, is impressed with what you are doing in skilling up the federation and providing jobs for the unemployed in the country. We are here to sensitize the directorate on the 2019 and 2022 Geneva resolution against gender based violence and harassment in work place which has been ratified and signed into law in Nigeria. Most importantly we are advocating for more inclusion of the vulnerable and the physically challenged in the employment programme of the NDE.
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“We know you are doing quite well in the provision of trainings and empowerment for the unemployed nationwide but more needed to be done for the physically challenged. They are part of us, some of them are our brothers and sisters, and above all, they are Nigerians and have the right to be catered for under the constitution of our fatherland. As you may be aware, some of them are quite educated and possess good qualifications. Their responsibility lies on us, we cannot throw them away, and in fact some of them are not created that way. Accident can happen to anybody at any material time.’’
She emphasized that the federal government had signed into law the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Act, adding that section 29 of the Prohibition Act states that at least five per cent of employment opportunities under the law should be given to people with disability.
The TUC women wing appreciated the Director General of the NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, for his gender sensitivity as exemplified in the gender balancing of the executive management of the directorate.
Responding, the Director-General informed his visitors that NDE was established in 1986 with the mandate to provide jobs for the unemployed Nigerians irrespective of gender, religion or physical body condition.
He said that government has made it mandatory for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to reserve five per cent for those living with disability in employment processes.
That, he said, NDE had strictly complied with.
Furthermore, the Director-General appreciated the organisation for visiting the NDE.
He assured it that NDE was always ready to assist anyone who was ready to learn a skill or trade either with challenge of disability or otherwise.
“NDE is established to serve all Nigerians who are willing to learn skills or become entrepreneurs and become self-employed. Every person who desires to have skills impacted to him or her will have it. In fact the Nigerian vulnerable is a major stakeholder in the benefits of the NDE.”
He added that NDE had created a window of skills acquisition opportunity for the people with disability since its inception in 1986 long before the Prohibition Act was recently signed into law.
“The opportunities are there for all of them, onus is on them to make choice among many programmes and schemes of the NDE that is suitable for them.”
