The Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura, on Thursday said the state government had concluded arrangement to establish a special school for persons with disabilities in the state, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.
Al-Makura made this known when he inspected the site for the project.
He said the institution, which would be sited in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government area of the state, would be dedicated to people with visual impairment.
According to him, the site has been found to be most suitable.
The governor said in addition to the school, a rehabilitation centre would also be built by the Federal Civil Service Cooperative Society to cater for persons with disabilities.
He said, “We are in collaboration with the Federal Civil Service and the United Nations for intervention in provision of centres for persons with disabilities.
“The state government, apart from building a special school for the blind, is also planning to build a skill acquisitions and vocations centre that would make life worth living for them.’’
Al-Makura said the project was a pilot scheme and would be replicated in each of the three senatorial districts in the state.
According to him, the school will be free and accommodate all categories of persons with disabilities in the state.
He expressed the hope that it would also serve as a spring board to prepare them for tertiary education.
The governor said his administration was collaborating with a university in the U.S. to admit graduates from the schools.
Al-Makura assured the people that adequate compensation would be paid to owners of the land acquired for the project in line with the Land Use Act.
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Cooperative Society, Mr. Illiyasu Abdulrauf, said the society was ready to commence work on the rehabilitation centre.
According to him, the school will go a long way in curtailing street begging, among persons with disabilities.
The traditional ruler in the area, Sarkin Gudi, Mr. Usman Bawa ,assured that the land would be released to the government, saying that the building of the school would further bring development to the area.
