Enugu State House of Assembly on Tuesday says it will initiate bills that will improve the welfare of elderly people in the state.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Uche Ugwu, disclosed this when he received members of Dew Drop Foundation, DDF, an NGO, at the Assembly complex to commemorate elderly persons in the state.
The deputy speaker said that initiating such bill would go a long way in addressing perceived negligence of the senior citizens, which was in line with the agenda of the state government.
Ugwu commended the organisation for commemorating the day of the elderly and urged them to partner with the state government in order to achieve their objectives.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Gender Affairs and social Development, Mrs Peace Nnaji, reiterated the need to respect elderly people and pledged her ministry’s support to the activities of the foundation.
The Founder of DDF, Mrs. Agatha Nnaji, said the foundation would engage the lawmakers to ensure that the welfare of elderly people was addressed legislatively.
She also asked the lawmakers to criminalise the abuse of elderly persons in the society, which she described as ‘condemnable’.
On the establishment of old people’s homes, Nnaji noted that though “our culture does not support such homes, but can be modernised to suit our cultural heritage”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the members of the foundation were received by other lawmakers. (NAN)
