DEVELOPMENT
Abia First Lady, Mrs Otti empowers 400 pwds with cash and food
The wife of the Abia State Governor, Her Excellency, Mrs. Priscilla Chidinma Otti, has extended her humanitarian intervention to 400 Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) across Abia State, providing them with food items and cash assistance under her Safe Tent Care Initiative.
The intervention, which was held in Umuahia as part of the Support for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) Food Distribution Programme, was designed to cushion the impact of the prevailing economic hardship on vulnerable members of society, particularly women and persons living with disabilities.
Speaking during the programme, Mrs. Otti said the initiative was a practical demonstration of compassion and an indication that vulnerable citizens remained an important part of her office’s social intervention agenda.
She described the outreach as the beginning of a more regular engagement with the disability community, stressing that support for PWDs should go beyond occasional assistance and extend to sustainable empowerment and economic inclusion.
The Abia First Lady explained that although official duties prevented her from attending the recent women’s August Meeting, she remained determined to ensure that women living with disabilities received the same attention and support extended to other women across the state.
According to her, the intervention was not intended to be viewed merely as a distribution of palliatives, but as an expression of solidarity with citizens facing difficult economic circumstances.
Mrs. Otti said her office was deliberately moving beyond emergency relief towards building resilience, with plans to ensure that persons living with disabilities are deliberately incorporated into government and private-sector empowerment opportunities.
She identified unemployment, high medical expenses, limited mobility, stigma and social exclusion among the major challenges confronting PWDs, noting that her office had maintained direct engagement with members of the disability community since 2023.
Mrs. Otti recalled that more than 600 PWDs benefited from a food outreach organised in 2024 during the period of heightened economic pressure following the removal of fuel subsidy.
She added that in 2025, about 100 entrepreneurs living with disabilities received solar power systems through a partnership with Trudu Energy, aimed at helping them sustain and expand their businesses.
Other interventions undertaken through the Safe Tent Initiative, she said, include recapitalisation grants for small businesses, provision of care materials and mobility aids, as well as dedicated quotas for PWDs in various skills acquisition programmes.
She further announced that persons living with disabilities would also be considered in a new vocational training initiative being organised in partnership with the National Directorate of Employment.
“We just signed an MoU with the National Directorate of Employment to train about 200 women in vocational skills. I will ensure that there is a quota for people living with disability among that group,” she announced.
Mrs. Otti also disclosed that Abia State would soon launch the National Community Food Bank for the Southeast, an initiative of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The initiative, which was launched in Anambra State on Wednesday, is aimed at addressing food insecurity among vulnerable groups, including widows, elderly persons, nursing mothers, children and PWDs.
The Abia First Lady commended Senator Tinubu for her annual interventions targeted at persons living with disabilities, particularly during the December period, describing such interventions as important support for vulnerable Nigerians.
She also appreciated the State Ministries of Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, as well as the Abia State Disability Commission, for their partnership and support towards ensuring that the programme achieved its objectives.
“The Government of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, believes in an Abia that belongs to everyone, an Abia where opportunity does not discriminate.
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Mrs. Blessing Ngozi Felix, Mr. Imo Obinna Sebastian said the administration of Governor Alex Otti had given persons living with disabilities a renewed sense of belonging.
“This initiative is a bold step towards building a more inclusive society where everyone, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive,” he said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Maureen Aghukwa, said the distribution of food items was demonstration that every citizen matters and that no one is left behin
