FROM RAHILA ABDULLAHI, KADUNA
Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to appoint one of them, Halimat Tejuosho, as a Minister.
Speaking on behalf of 100 coalition groups at a meeting in Kaduna, recently, Comrade Aliyu Sani maintained that the aim of organising the press conference was to join other groups and individuals to drum support for Tejuosho to be considered Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.
“Today, we join People Living With Disabilities, PLWDs, across the 36 states and the FCT, as well as All Progressives Congress, APC, PLWD leaders in the 36 states and other stakeholders including senators, APC stalwarts, National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, credible and objective observers and youth parliaments across the country who have been agitating and consulting widely for the appointment of this seasoned personality.
“As a selfless patriot who has been using her personal resources to bring succour to senior citizens, PLWDs and the less privileged through her well thought out Queen Adenike Tejuosho Foundation, QATFoundation, giving her a position of responsibility in line with her passion and interest will energize her to do more for the downtrodden.
“As a mark of true philanthropy, she recently celebrated Children’s Day with vulnerable and indigent children where over 500 school books, bags, shoes, water bottles, foodstuffs and writing materials were shared.
“Her Ramadan largesse to over 1,000 PLWDs, as well as Sallah packages to hundreds of households who could not afford to celebrate the festivities cannot be forgotten”, he added.
Judging by individual sacrifices and the sheer passion to touch lives, the coalition appealed to Mr President to urgently consider filling the vacuum created by the suspension of Dr Betta Edu by appointing Tejuosho as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to enable Nigerians enjoy the dividends of democracy in line with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, especially in the area of poverty alleviation.
“It goes without saying that since the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has been without a minister, government is failing in providing basic succour to the less privileged.
“From her antecedents and if given the opportunity, she will continue to extend her generosity and passion to turnaround the fortunes of the less privileged and downtrodden in Nigeria”, the statement noted.
On the argument that Tejuosho is not from the South-South region where the former minister hailed from, the coalition stated that her maternal home is Delta State which makes her a full-blooded South-South person even though her father is from Lagos State.
“We do not want to trivialise the issue of origin and region as competence and merit should trump issues of origin and other differences that only serve to divide rather than unite us.
“It is, therefore, our earnest appeal to Mr President to consider appointing this noble, hardworking and dedicated humanitarian and party stalwart as minister”, he added.
The coalition reiterated the support and efforts made by the PLWD community in Nigeria who worked for the election of Mr President and appealed to him to grant their only wish.
