The Enugu State House of Assembly says it will pass a bill that will protect as well as improve the welfare of the elderly people in the state.
The House Committee Chairman on Gender Affairs, Mrs Onyinye Ugwu, gave this assurance when she received copies of Proposed Enugu State Elderly Persons Welfare and Social Protection Bill at the Assembly Complex in Enugu.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presentation came from the Centre for Gender Economy Africa and the Dewdrop Foundation, a non governmental organisation.
The Assemblyman promised to collaborate with her colleagues to ensure that the bill was not only introduced during the plenary but would also be passed in the shortest time possible.
She noted that the proposed bill, if passed and assented to, would go a long way in restoring the respect for the elders in the state as their welfare and protection would be given utmost priority.
Earlier, the Executive Director of Centre for Gender Economy Africa, Mrs Uchenna Idoko, said the organisation came up with the bill as a way of giving voice to the elderly persons whom, she regretted, were not adequately catered for.
Idoko informed the Committee that the bill, which is modeled after a similar law in Ekiti state, would also put an end to several abuse meted out to the elderly persons.
On her part, the Administration/Communication Officer of the Dewdrop Foundation, Miss Nkem Nwobu, revealed that many elderly persons had benefitted from its programmes, adding that the bill if passed would enable the organisation to do more.
NAN reports that the highpoint of the event was the official presentation of the copies of the proposed bill to Mrs Onyinye Ugwu. (NAN)
