The Director-General of the National Senior Citizens’ Centre (NSCC), Dr Emem Omokaro, has solicited for private sector investments in the programmes and processes of enhancing the livelihoods of Senior citizens across the country.Omokoro made the call in her address of welcome at the maiden edition of the Private Sector Roundtable organised by the Centre, on Wednesday, in Abuja, and sponsored by FJ Global and Seman Group.

“This roundtable is intended both as a major stakeholder consultation with the private sector, whose output would inform the ongoing NSCC 10-year strategic plan. “And to also pass information on the NSCC Act, mandate and main domains, as well as to engage in a transformative dialogue on opportunities for investment that will meet the identified challenges of senior citizens.“The challenges and opportunities in ageing and care for older persons are multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral. Investing in the care domains and services fall within many mandates of stakeholders.“The estimated population of older persons as disaggregated from the latest Nigerian Living Standard Survey is 14.8 million.”It is imperative to seek innovative ideas and transformative pathways to see opportunities for job creation and economic development in an inter-generational community ecosystem,” Emem said.The NSCC DG explained that private sector investments in the programmes of the Centre for the aged, would go a long way to enhance their lives and enable them to live longer.Omokaro said the roundtable had participants from health services, pharmaceutical, insurance companies, pension fund administrators, social security, education, housing, aviation, transportation, communications and many others.She added that the Centre also had members of the diplomatic corps as a deliberate positioning for regional and international linkages.Speaking, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Usman represented by her Special Assistant on Budget and National Planning, Hauwa Yahaya, described the private sector initiative as a great idea because ”one may be retired but not tired, there is life after retirement”.She said the Ministry was committed to ensuring that the NSCC delivered on its mandate.In her goodwill message, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, represented by Mr Masur Kuliya, Director of Social Development in the Ministry, commended Omokaro for her brave efforts, even when funds were not readily available to the Centre.“We are happy that the NSCC is bringing in the private sector, because government cannot do it alone. I am happy that we have Union Bank that is ready to key in and assist.” I want to assure you that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to seeing that the Centre is adequately funded,” Farouq said.Mr Anietie Bassey, from Union Bank, called on the NSCC and private sector to rely on the bank for the enhancement of the lives of Senior citizens in the country.“We have products and platforms to encourage senior citizens to continue their business or other endeavours even after retirement”.Similarly, Mrs Slyvia Ozike, General Manager, Seman Group Nigeria, said they were ready to collaborate with the NSCC to provide gadgets that would enhance the health and well being of senior citizens, without them taking drugs.” We have gadgets that could treat ulcer, blood pressure, arthritis and many others that could be provided for the senior citizens so that they could age gracefully,” she said.Also, the Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority, Yakubu Ibn Mohammed represented by Hajiya Halima Musa, Director of News, said the station was solidly behind the NSCC and would continue to support the Centre. The officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Universities Commission and others online, participated in the event. (NAN)