by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
The Plateau State Government has acknowledged the critical roles people living with disabilities play in different areas of human endeavours.
The State’s Head of Civil Service, Mr. Stephen Pam Godong, made the assertion when the Plateau State Association of the Deaf paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the Cabinet Office Jos, recently.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary-General Administration, John Dajuma Damenkyap, the Head of Service said, government would push for their inclusion in recruitment into the State Civil Service, in order to avoid being marginalized.
Mr. Godong also assured them of government support, especially those who have learned skills and handwork so as to support their families and dependants.
He also noted that the recently-conducted staff verification exercise was to ascertain the exact number of staff in the Civil Service in the state, to enable the government to consider filling any vacancies.
He assured that, “All the issues presented are important and that, some of the association’s officials would, therefore, be invited for further deliberation and necessary action.”
He encouraged and urged them – especially those with academic aspirations – to remain focused on their academic goals, as the government would consider them and extend the scholarship to them.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Deaf Association, Plateau State chapter, Mr. Satzen Boniface Longpan, commended the governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang, for his continuous support to the disability community in the state.
According to him, many members of the community have benefited from the government’s many welfarist programmes, be it at the local or state level.
However, he stated that, “Like Oliver Twist, we ask for more,” and proceeded to enumerate some of their challenges to include education, employment, empowerment, supporting sign language interpreters and political inclusion, amongst others.
Mr. Longpan appealed to the government to consider the establishment of Sign Language units in every government office, in order to mitigate the communication challenges faced by the deaf.