Senatorial aspirant calls for elderly care
Posted by admin | 10 years ago | 3,105 times
An aspirant for Lagos West Senatorial District, Kamal Ayinde Bayewu has urged the Federal Government to come up with a deliberate programme for the elderly in the country. He urged the Federal Government to do this by setting up care centers for them as was being done in many Western countries.
Bayewu, who is the outgoing Chairman of Ajeromi- Ifelodun Local Government made the call in Lagos recently while presenting cash and gift items to elderly members of his constituency, who were within the age range of 70 years and above.
“Government must come up with a deliberate programme to care for our elderly ones’ he said and queried, ‘how many elderly homes do we have in Nigeria? And our leaders travel abroad and see these things there? Why can’t we replicate such here? These are things that we are going to the Senate to do”.
Bayewu says the elderly ones cut across all tribes, religion and political groups in his local government and that he has been giving them stipends of N5, 000 monthly.
He said their welfare was one of the major reasons he was vying for a Senatorial position. “One of the reasons am vying for a senatorial seat is to push for the provision of social security services for the elderly ones, I will use the opportunity to ensure that issues surrounding the aged in the country are adequately addressed” he stated.
He however urged the federal government to provide a stipend for elderly ones who were not pensionable while condemning the rigours most pensioners were made to undergo before collecting their pension. “We are all aware of the immense contributions of our very senior citizens who gave all their productive and useful years to the service of their motherland. They are now at a vulnerable stage which requires urgent intervention through well-articulated policies and structures by government at all levels”.
“Elderly people who have worked for the government collects pension, but what about those who have not worked for the government, they need to be protected in their old age. Something must be given to them to empower them, whether they have children or not. It is the duty of any responsible government to take care of the elderly ones in the society and not look at them as a burden” he stated.
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