Senator Ali Ndume promised to use his resources to secure more opportunities for disabled soccer players, after donating N1 million to support the team.
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) has revealed that the National Assembly is planning to amend the laws that establish the National Commission for Persons with Disability and increase the penalties imposed on heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for turning down qualified disabled Nigerian candidates for employment.
Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, gave this disclosure on Wednesday as members of the FCT Para-soccer Team honoured him with an award in Abuja.
The Borno South senator stressed that disabled Nigerians with the necessary credentials ought to be able to work for pay in MDAs and advance to become senior employees.
The lawmaker promised to use his connections to secure more opportunities for disabled soccer players, after donating N1 million to support the team.
He said: “This is the Para-soccer team of the FCT. They want to honour me. We’ve been supporting people with disabilities. These people have families and they have made us proud. They’ve won laurels for Nigeria. This team was founded over 30 years ago.
“I want to donate N1 million to support FCT Para-soccer. I’ll arrange for you to meet the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. He will give you all the support.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in his Renewed Hope Agenda. We’ll have the national event in a grandeur manner and all major political leaders will be there. We can arrange that this year. This year will be a year of Renewed Hope for every Nigerian.
“We’ll make it mandatory for every MDA of government to employ people with disabilities. They’ll be placed in offices and respected, become chief executives of such government agencies, and become permanent secretaries. We’ve had a disabled senator who was the Chief Whip.”
The Para-Soccer founder, Misbahu Lawan Didi, who presented the award plaque, said that Ndume was instrumental in the bill’s passage, which created the Disability Commission of Nigeria and described how Ndume reached out to the disabled community during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing them with material and financial support.
“Para-soccer game was founded in Nigeria. There are over 5,000 members across Nigeria. You’ve done more for the disability community than any other politician in Nigeria. You played a role in the establishment of the Disability Commission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, you reached out to many disabled people.
“You’ve given over 5,000 tricycles to disabled people. You’ve sponsored many of our events. We want other senators to copy what Ndume is doing for disabled people in Nigeria. They need to copy him,” he said.
