BEGGARS across Kaduna State have staged a demonstration to protest the recent decision by Governor Nasir El-Rufai to outlaw begging giving him seven days within which to overturn the decision.
Last week, Governor El-Rufai assented to the bill to ban street begging and hawking across the state, which made engaging in such actions illegal. However, the state's numerous beggars described the bill as contrary to the promises made to them during campaign, and threatened to occupy Government House in their large numbers if the governor does not withdraw the law.
Yesterday, the beggars comprising the blind, the deaf, and the physically challenged, stormed the Kaduna State secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, asserting that they did not mind sacrificing their lives in the fight against the law. They said nobody could stop them from begging without providing alternative means of survival.
During the demonstration, the protesters raised placards with inscriptions that included, ‘El-Rufai, before stopping street begging, pass state disability bill’, ‘Fulfil your campaign promises before banning street begging’, and ‘Give us 10% job opportunity as you promised before banning street begging.’ Julius Shemang, the chairman of Concerned Citizens with Disabilities, said that the passage of the law contradicted the agreed process reached between them and the government that adequate provision and solutions would be proffered before the law would comes into effect.
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