Delta State Association of the Deaf has appealed to the Delta State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborewori to employ sign language interpreters in all Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to break the communication barriers the deaf encounter visiting government offices for various purposes.
They made the appeal when they visited the State’s Government House, Asaba, in continuation of their peaceful rally to mark this year’s International Deaf Week, with the theme, “Sign up for Sign Language Right”.
Speaking on behalf of the association, through the aid of an interpreter, its Chairman, Mr Chike Emmanuel said they usually have difficulty each time they visit government offices to conduct their business.
Emmanuel also raised concerns about the welfare of the deaf community in the state, specifically requesting that they should be involved in everything the state is doing.
He pointed out that there are lots of qualified graduates in their midst that can be employed into the state’s civil service or occupy political offices, asking the governor to give them three political appointments, including a Special Adviser on Deaf Matters.
He said, “We are here to see our boss, the governor that we voted for. We wish he was here but he has sent a representative.
“We the deaf in Delta State, we want to be involved in everything they are doing in the state when it comes to governance. We have qualified people who have finished university. We want the governor to give the deaf people at least three political appointments, because we are part of the people who voted for the governor. We need a Special Adviser on Deaf Matters, that is why we want to see the governor.
“In Nigeria, there are a lot of deaf people begging on the streets, but we don’t in Delta State, so we want the governor to build an empowerment scheme for our people so that they can have something tangible to do, to reduce begging in the state. We want him to do something that even after he leaves office, the deaf people will remember him.
“We have 11 government special schools, with special teachers, but those teachers that are there are not really special teachers. Some of them were just brought in from our normal school and they don’t really understand sign language. We want the government to employ more teachers into those schools.
In his response, the Chief of Staff to the Delta State Governor, Prince Johnson Erijo who addressed the Deaf Association on behalf of the Delta State Government, reiterated the state government’s commitment to continue to support and protect the interest and welfare of the disability community in the state.
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According to Erijo the governor, Sheriff Oborewori’s led administration in the state has always promised to be all inclusive, adding that the interest of the Deaf community will always gain the attention of government.
While expressing his solidarity with the Deaf community at this year’s event, the Chief of staff said, “on behalf of your loving governor, I want to welcome you to government house. We are joining you to celebrate the international day for the deaf. And I’m happy that you people have come here in peace and we are in solidarity with you people.
“We have received all your presentations and are mindful of them. The governor obviously is going to attend to all your requests and those of them that are feasible for us to implement immediately, the government will give them all the attention that it deserves.
“We salute you for all your support and belief in the administration of our governor. We are going to translate your requests to the Ministry of Women Affairs that is in charge of the responsibility of attending to you and of course they will start looking into it for implementation as it is practicable.”
