Senior citizens to benefit 5% of FG’s social intervention programmes — NSCC boss

President Bola Tinubu has approved the release of five per cent of all social intervention programmes of the Federal Government to senior citizens.

Dr Emem Omokaro, the Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Omokaro who was speaking on the one-year anniversary of the Tinubu-led administration, expressed gratitude to the President for the gesture, stressing that it would go a long way in addressing the challenges of the elderly.

She said the interventions would be tailored towards various programmes designed by the NSCC which had taken into consideration the need assessments of the senior citizens.

Omokaro said it would ensure that older people are catered for and included in the area of their capacity.

 “I am using this opportunity to say that the NSCC will be very happy to see that five per cent is applied to the programmes that are already on the ground.

“The older people have already been organised and some percentage can go into our caregiving training and certification care for older people.

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Some percentage of that should go into our Multi-Purpose Cooperatives for older people,  building our One Community One Senior Centre Project for older people.

This will help to ensure that the social investment programme will reach the diverse population of older people,” she said.

Omokaro said that in the population of older persons,  there are women, and persons with disabilities, noting that the centre had developed programmes to ensure that they were not discriminated against.

The DG stressed that the centre had already initiated programmes aimed at improving the quality of life of Senior Citizens in the country.

She said the NSCC was yet to access the five per cent intervention pledge due to some restructuring that was going on in the sector.

”I am still discussing with my ministry, I am still trying to get it and the National Social Investment Agency itself.

“I know there are still some restructurings going on there, so, there was a pulse” she said. (NAN)