The Coalition of People Living With Disabilities (PWDs) in the 19 Northern States and Abuja has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to consider the appointment of one of their own, Adenike Tejuosho as the Humanitarian Minister.
The PUNCH reports that the ministry has been without a minister since Betta Edu was suspended in January.
Members of the coalition that converged on the historical Arewa House include PWDs across the 19 states and FCT as well as the APC PWD members, the National Association of Nigerian Students, and the National Youth Council of Nigeria, among others.
The groups said they had consulted widely over their choice and concluded to recommend Tejuosho as their choice Humanitarian Minister.
The Chairman of the coalition, Aliyu Sani Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the members, thanked President Tinubu for the support extended to them (PWDs) and the senior citizens in his first year in office.
Specifically, Mohammed hailed the president’s wife and Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu for her firm support to her husband, in addition to the agricultural support she has recently extended to People Living With Disabilities across the country at the start of the farming season.
Mohammed informed that one request that is very dear to them is to join several other groups and individuals to drum up support for Mrs Halimat Adenike Tejuosho who has over the years distinguished herself as a true humanitarian to be appointed as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
“As a selfless patriot who has been using her personal resources to bring succour to senior citizens, the PWDs and the less privileged through her well thought out “Queen Adenike Tejuosho Foundation”, giving her a position of responsibility in line with her passion and interest, will energise her to do more for the downtrodden in our society.
“Judging by all the individual sacrifices and the sheer passion to touch lives, the coalition appealed to Mr. President to urgently consider filling the vacuum created by the suspension of Dr. Betta Edu by appointing Halimat Adenike Tejuosho as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to enable Nigerians to enjoy the dividends of democracy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, especially in the area of poverty alleviation.
“It goes without saying that since the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has been without a Minister, the government is failing in providing basic succour to the less privileged.
“From her antecedents and if given the opportunity, Tejuosho will continue to extend her generosity and passion to bring a turn around in the fortunes of the less privileged and downtrodden in Nigeria”, he added.
He also argued that the permutation that Tejuosho is not from the South-south geo-political zone should not be used as the yardstick for picking the next Nigerian to occupy the Humanitarian Ministry, noting that merit must supersede ethnicity.
“We do not want to trivialise the issue of origin and region as competence and merit should triumph over issues of origin and other differences that only serve to divide, rather than unite us”, he stressed.
Continuing, Mohammed further pointed out, “Therefore, it is our earnest appeal to Mr. President to consider appointing this noble, hardworking and dedicated humanitarian and party stalwart as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
“As a mark of true philanthropy, the quintessential lady recently celebrated Children’s Day with vulnerable and indigent children where over 500 school books, bags, shoes, water bottles, foodstuffs and writing materials were shared.
“Her Ramadan largesse to over 1000 PWDs as well as Sallah packages to hundreds of households who could not afford to celebrate the festivities cannot be forgotten.
The Coalition reiterated the support and efforts made by the over 27 million PWD community in the country who had worked for the election of President Tinubu and appealed to grant their only one wish by appointing one of them who has distinguished herself as a minister of the Federal Republic.
“We are united with one voice without any external influence in making this appeal and prayer. It will be a privilege to appoint this selfless woman as a minister because we are very sure she will deliver. This is our collective resolve born out of the conviction that with the support she has been giving people in the community for over 10 years, she’s the right person for the job. Politics, region and other considerations should be put aside to allow competence and merit to prevail”, the chairman declared.
Another leader of the PWDs, Sani Ahmed, while also imploring the president to pick Tejuosho whom he described as one with the “golden heart”, told Arewa PUNCH that the positive and laudable efforts of her (Tejuosho) Humanitarian services could be seen and felt across the 36 states of the federation, including Abuja, especially among the people with disabilities.
A PWD member, Adamu Abdullahi at the gathering said that “the woman has always been there for the disabled people for long. Therefore, we (persons with disabilities) are appealing to the president to consider our request”.
Another member, Esther Jonah, said, “I am happy to be here because we know our father (President Tinubu) is a listening person who listens to the yearnings of the poor. Our father (President Tinubu) should consider Adenike Tejuisho by giving her a ministerial appointment.
“I have never met her but I have heard what she has been doing. I hear about what she had done for our people and I know she will do better if she is there in the ministry”, Jonah appealed.
