The Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre, Dr Emem Omokaro, has described First Lady Oluremi Tinubu as a beacon of hope to elderly persons in the country.

Ms Omokaro, who disclosed this on Friday in Abuja, said Mrs Oluremi’s commitment to elderly persons in her Renewed Hope Initiative indicated she is a true representative of senior citizens in society.

She also said that the gesture justified the confidence of Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu’s administration would ensure zero tolerance for discrimination against older persons.

The D-G assured Nigerians of her determination to partner with relevant institutions to ensure proper mainstreaming of older persons into the social investment programmes.

”This will include health, social care and other laudable initiatives, including the realisation of the One Community, One Senior Centre Project for older persons across the nation,” she said.

Ms Omokaro also urged state governments to expedite action towards the domestication of the National Senior Citizens Centre Act 2017 and the national policy on aging.

She said that the decentralised and inclusive nature of the RHI template should encourage states and local governments to ensure equity and age-specific responses.

“Especially during the planning, budgeting and implementation of health and social services to meet the needs of different categories of people without leaving older persons behind,” she said.

The D-G also commended the National Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Ageing for its various interventions for the betterment of elderly persons.

According to her, they thanked her for being a ladder through which the centre used to reach out and ensure the participation of older people even in hard-to-reach areas.

She stated,”You also helped in the selection process of the 250 older persons that will benefit from the RHI across states of the federation.’’

The First Lady had allocated 250 slots for older persons to benefit from the RHI across the country.

(NAN)