By Aluta News
July 11, 2021
The National Senior Citizens Centre says it is set to partner National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Legal Aid Council (LAC) and National Orientation Agency (NOA) to protect and defend the rights of senior citizens across the country.
The Director-General of the centre, Dr Emem Omokaro, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that before now, issues that affect older persons were not really seen as development yardstick.
She noted that matters of older persons were seen as welfare issues, thus discretional.
Omokaro explained that with the the National Policy on Aging and the setting up of the Senior Citizens Centre and other policies, there was hope that issues that affect older persons would be integrated into development.
The director general said “we are going to provide supportive system for older persons and facilitate their access to justice and wellbeing; and also ensure that people were aware of what constitute abuse of an elder.
“We shall collaborate with NHRC, LAC and NOA to protect and defend the rights of senior citizens across the country via NHRC’s desk on vulnerable groups, reporting portal and call centres.
“We are also talking with LAC on abuse of older persons; issue of material and social deprivation; when it comes to pension payout, their rights are being abused with impunity.
“LAC has offices across the federation. It has investigative desks and it is the council’s mandate to give legal representation to indigent Nigerians, but older persons and their families don’t know this,’’ Omokaro stressed.
She emphasised that the council would partner the centre, while NOA would help with sensitisation in local governments, wards and districts in different Nigerian languages.
According to her, the centre has the privilege that the structures already exist and that is the way to go.
The mandate of the centre is to initiate, facilitate and empower the inclusion of older persons in healthcare, economic and social opportunities to ensure that they are provided the dignity and enhanced capacity.
“The capacity will enable them to participate in what they value, thereby contributing to the development of their local communities,” she said.
NAN