The Abia State Government has concluded a review of the draft policy framework for implementing the Abia State Senior Citizens Centre Law No. 4 of 2025, in a move to strengthen the welfare and protection of older persons across the state.
The review was completed at a two-day stakeholders’ validation workshop on the draft Abia State Policy on Ageing, which ended in Umuahia on Tuesday.
The workshop, themed “Stronger Policies, Greater Inclusion, A Brighter Future for Our Senior Citizens,” was organised by the state government in collaboration with the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection.
Speaking at the event, the Social Policy Officer at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Enugu Field Office, Dr Victor Chima, said the ageing policy aligned with the state’s social protection agenda.
He assured the government that UNICEF and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) would continue to support efforts to strengthen the state’s social protection system and ensure effective implementation.
Chima said: “As we move ahead, UNICEF and ILO will continuously support the state towards ensuring that the social protection system and landscape is both strengthened, advanced, and also adequately implemented.”
Also speaking, the Coordinator and Facilitator of the Abia State Senior Citizens Centre, Dr Otti Nwaka, said the initiative originated from the National Senior Citizens Centre in Abuja before being adopted by the state.
Nwaka explained that reviewing the policy was necessary to provide a framework for implementing the existing law.
He said: “So, Abia State has an Abia State Senior Citizens Centre law. So, without the policy, the law can’t work, hence the review of the policy today.”
In her welcome address, the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Mrs Ngozi Blessing Felix, stressed the need for government institutions and development partners to collaborate to ensure that older persons received adequate attention and care.
She said the draft policy was designed to protect and promote the welfare of residents aged 60 and above.
Felix said: “Institutions and other partners can work together to ensure that growing old does not mean becoming invisible or being left to fend for oneself.”
The commissioner disclosed that the ministry had conducted several consultations with stakeholders from the formal and informal sectors to develop a policy that would address the needs of older persons throughout the state.
She said the Abia State Senior Citizens Centre Law, 2025, provided a foundation for a coordinated and sustained response to the challenges facing senior citizens.
Felix added: “Our task through the draft policy is to build on that foundation and translate the commitment to their welfare into a coordinated programme of action across the state.”
She further disclosed that Abia was among four states in Nigeria that had enacted laws or established legal frameworks to guarantee the protection, inclusion and care of older persons.
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The commissioner said the government was determined to ensure that the policy translated into practical measures rather than remaining a document.
She said: “We are advancing this course by ensuring that we do not just have a law that is in blueprints, but that we have a policy that is actionable.”
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