3,000 Aged People Want Welfare Package

Over 3,000 aged people in Lagos State have called on government at all levels to enact a policy that will provide a welfare package which includes free food for their members in the society.

At a news conference at Ilupeju, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, yesterday, to herald its coming anniversary celebration and official launch of the Old People’s Welfare Foundation, OPWEF, the elderly, aged 60 years and above, decried the neglect of the elderly in the society.

Secretary, OPWEF, Oluwole Pereira lamented that the elderly people in the society had been abandoned by government and all, adding that it had become imperative that government introduce awelfare package for all elderly people.

He said the old people would pray earnestly for the government if it should do this as they were suffering and could not go begging on the streets. He added that some of the children of some of the old people were not gainfully employed, so they cannot take proper care of their parents.

Pereira stated that the launch of the foundation would take place on Saturday under the chairmanship of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of the Fountain of Life Church, while Governor Babatunde Fashola, Dr. Sarah Jubril, Prophet Temitope Joshua, among others were expected to grace the occasion.

President/Founder of the Foundation, Mrs. Felicia Ilaka said she decided to establish the foundation to alleviate the plight of the elderly, adding that the foundation started with 10 people and has since grown to over 3,000.

She said the aged had been depending on the goodwill of Nigerians, especially the founder of Fountain of Life Church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya.

“We are seeking help from those who love their neighbours. Since we started, we have been receiving help from people, especially the pastor of Fountain of Life who gives us packages on a monthly basis.

“Some restaurants in Ilupeju also offer us free lunch, especially the Pastor Taiwo Odukoya Restaurant. This is not sufficient and we are still calling for help,” she stated.

Ilaka added that Pastor Temitope Joshua came to the rescue of the elderly last December by providing them with three trailers of rice, adding that each member went home with two bags of rice and N5,000 donated by the pastor.

According to her, old people need help from the public, and pleaded that people could donate gift items to the foundation.

She also said the old people needed an amusement park where they could go for relaxation twice weekly and listen to some music to calm their nerves.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga