The governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, yesterday gave automatic employment to 10 physically-challenged persons in the state, just as 35 wheelchairs were provided for them.
The governor also said the state government would take over the treatment and upkeep of a five-year-old Olumide Enoch, who suffers from cerebral palsy.
Governor Fayose announced the gestures during an interactive session he had with the physically-challenged persons at the Governor’s Office as part of activities to mark his first year in office.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said the employment opportunities would cut across different categories of people.
Those to benefit from the employment are those with sight challenges, albinos, deaf and dumb, among others.
The governor also said the 10 persons should include six males and four females.
One of the beneficiaries of the employment opportunities, Miss Ibitoye Helen, said she graduated from the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti in 2012 with a second class degree in English and Literary Studies and had been finding it difficult to make ends meet.
Mrs. Olumide, Enoch’s mother, said the family had drained all its resources in taking care of the boy.
“You can see that I am shaking. This is a big support that I cannot fully appreciate with words. What the governor has done is like helping my family to survive. I pray that God will take our dear governor to higher level and be with him and his family,” she stated.
President of Physically-Challenged Persons Association in the state, Mr. Ojo Peters said what the governor did was unprecedented in the history of the state.
In his speech, Fayose challenged wealthy individuals and corporate bodies to come to the aid of such people.