The National Senior Citizens Center has reassured commitment to improving the livelihood of older persons across the nation.
The Director General of the center, Emem Omokaro disclosed this when she paid a visit to some centers where the older persons engaged in small-scale businesses in Kano state.
She said one of the priority areas of the center was to identify the needs of old persons in the country and to cater for them.
Mrs Omokaro explained that one of the new initiatives of the center was to map out all indigenous crafts, and livelihood ventures engaged by the aged persons across the nation to have a baseline and identify their challenges, so that market strategies would be provided for them.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: 133m Nigerians living in poverty – FG
” We have already conducted a national assessment, 18 states were used as samples, our next step is how we can empower the older people, and we have liaised with the National Directorate of Employment to ensure that we achieve this,” she said
The Director General, who visited the Kofarmata Dye-Pit center in Kano, expressed happiness on how the older people were engaged in the centuries trend business.
She therefore reatated commitment to empower them in order to improve their socioeconomic life.
“As you know, Kano is well known for its Dye-pit. I am very overwhelmed when I saw very old people of 75years and above still engaged in the indigenous craft, and I am happy that they welcome the new idea, to come together and alleviate most of the challenges.”
Mrs Omokaro maintained that during the center’s retreat in the state, experts discussed modalities that needed to be implored in sourcing funds, and how to limit depending on the budgetary allocations and the way forward.