The Federal government says priority will be given to older persons in the national identity registration process.
The DG National identity management commission, Aliyu Abubakar Aziz said this during a courtesy call by the DG National senior citizens center in Abuja today.
The DG also disclosed that plans are under way to give the senior citizens a special badge or ID that will entitle them to discounts when they use services like transportation or pay for goods.
He said the call for partnership in registration of older persons by NSCC is a welcome one as it is in line with NIMCs mandate and will be of immense use to the government.
On her part, the DG National senior citizens center ,Dr Emem Omokaro said registration of senior citizens is necessary to aid planning for the provision of age friendly services and structures for older persons. She said the partnership with NIMC was strategic as NIMC has the apparatus and data base necessary for the registration process.
Dr Omokaro lamented the fact that social inclusion had eluded senior citizens for a long time in Nigeria and pledged the NSCC’s commitment to making things right.
“Senior citizens have been considerably denied access to health, economic and social services mostly through environments which present barriers to their participation in what they value”.
” These denials breach senior citizens right to assistance and support in receiving, understanding and processing information to enable participation and informed decision”.
Dr Omokaro outlined areas in which the NSCC would consider in the first phase for assessment and advocacy for consideration of age or disability friendly environments as sustainable policy actions.
She said the presidential declaration on the registration of senior citizens with issuance of ID to facilitate senior citizens social inclusion and participation gives impetus to accelerated concrete procedures and mechanisms for the enhancement of age friendly environments and services in line with the NSCC Act 2017 and the discrimination against persons with disability act 2018.
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