By tunji adejeji
Commercial and other forms of activities were practically shut down yesterday in Owerri, the Imo State Capital when physically challenged persons for the umpteenth time took to the streets.
In what could be described as days of protests in Owerri, the disabled persons numbering more than 1000 mobilized themselves to take over the main access routes from all parts of the state into the Owerri capital city.
It would be recalled that several women drawn from the 27 LGAs of the state on Tuesday stormed the state capital on protest march. The suspected rented crowd protested alleged harassment meted to the State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha by Federal Agencies like EFCC, ICPC and SSS and further asked for the release of result of Oguta Assembly seat conducted in June this year.
Hours after the pro-government women held the state capital hostage, disabled persons took their turn, this time to protest government insensibility to the physically challenged persons.
Led by their President General, Dr Stanley Nwachukwu, the physically challenged persons, mobilized themselves with buses and vehicles to the ever busy Orlu/Warehouse/Bank Road roundabout. Within minutes, they used their vehicles, buses and wheel chairs to take over the roundabout.
The action caused heavy vehicular traffic on Owerri roads with road users undergoing hectic period.
Ably led by Dr Nwachukwu and operating under the umbrella of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, (JONAPAD), Imo State Chapter, the people lamented that since inception of the Governor Okorocha’s inception in 2011, he has not released their annual subvention adding that the present “Rescue Mission” government runs anti disabled policies.
According to JONAPAD, Okorocha unlike previous governments has never considered appointing physically challenged persons in his cabinet and no Department in the Governor’s office caters for welfare of disabled persons in the state.
Speaking further, some of the JONAPAD leaders in an interview with Trumpeta said that they have suffered untold hardship in the hands of the Okorocha who has shown great insensitivity to their plights. According to them, while several promises remain unfulfilled the Governor never considers disabled persons from Imo State in his functions.
“The worst is that Okorocha never considers us in his welfare packages to disabled persons in the state. Check his programes, it is only those from outside the state. In short, the man is Oka mma na ama. He prefers relating with physically challenged persons from outside the state than us in Imo.
“Besides, he has never considered any of us worthy to serve in his government. You can imagine that disabled persons are never considered for political appointments and other top civil service jobs like permanent secretary and DAGs for LGAs. Unlike what is obtained in other states, no physically-challenged persons were considered for Perm sec position”, they added.
While calling for the domestication of the right of persons with disability in the state, JONADAP implored the governor to emulate other state governors like Sule Lamido of Jigawa State who pays disabled persons monthly allowance of N7,000.
Efforts to reach the new Senior Special Assistant, (Media) to the Governor, Sam Onwuamedo proved abortive as his number was not available for reactions.
