Beggars in Kaduna State on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 staged a protest over the law banning street begging and hawking, giving Governor Nasir El-Rufai seven days ultimatum to withdraw the law.
Governor El-Rufai had last week assented to the bill to ban street begging and hawking, which the beggars described as contrary to the promises made to them during campaign, and threatened to occupy the Government House in their large numbers if El-Rufai would not withdraw the law.
The beggars comprising the blind, the deaf, and the physically challenged, stormed the Kaduna state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) yesterday, 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.
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 percent job opportunity as you promised before banning street begging.’
Speaking on the protest, the Chairman of Concerned Citizens with Disabilities, Julius Shemang, 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 come into effect.
