Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, JONAPWD Ebonyi State Chapter has expressed worry over the delay of the payment of one million Naira empowerment fund by the state government to its remaining 132 members in the state.
The association made this known in a joint press briefing on Tuesday at Abakaliki, the state capital.
The State Chairman of the Association, Mr Chieme Odomuegwu Franklin, said the state governor, Chief Francis Nwifuru, approved the inclusion of 171 persons living with disabilities in the state government empowerment programme meant for 1,300 Ebonyi residents, with assurance that each of the beneficiaries would receive one million Naira.
Chime said the names of the selected members of the association, cutting across the 171 political wards in the 13 local government areas of the state, were submitted to the empowerment committee but expressed fear over the delay of the payment of the 132 of them to date.
"Currently, 39 out of 171 members of the oint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Ebonyi State Chapter have received alerts of the one million Naira empowerment fund as approved by His Excellency Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State.
"Our members are very grateful for His Excellency, the governor who, out of his magnanimity, approved a one million Naira to empower each of the 1,300 Ebonyi people cutting across the 13 local government areas of the state.
"We thank His Excellency for giving 171 slots to the persons living with disabilities in Ebonyi State. We made sure that each of our members benefitted from the empowerment programme because we have members in 171 political wards cutting across the 13 local government areas of the state.
"We worry that 39 of the 171 members, the targeted number of the beneficiaries approved for the JONAPWD, have received the alerts, but 132 of us have not been paid.
"We have seen the list of 132 of us who have not seen their alerts to the committee in charge of the one million Naira empowerment disbursement, but no response has been given to us to date.
"That's why we want to use this opportunity to appeal to the governor to assist us by directing the committee to pay our members, the 132 of them, to be happy like the 39 of us as the beneficiaries of the one million Naira empowerment programme per head."
The woman leader of the association, Mrs Ugochinyere Okechukwu recalled that the processes to access the empowerment fund were tedious to the Persons with disabilities and thanked the governor for having embarked on all-inclusive governance in the state.
She requested urgent payment of the empowerment fund to the remaining members of the association and emphasized the need for more inclusion of women, especially those living with disabilities, in the government programmes in the state.
Other officers including the ALGON Chairman of the Association, Moses Nwafor, Zonal Coordinator of the body in Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Moses Nwalo and Chairman of the Abakaliki Local Government Area, Ugo Chikaodili, applauded the state governor for including their members in the empowerment programme and urged him to talk to the disbursement committee to comply with his instructions.
