The Abia State Government has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to protecting the rights, dignity, and welfare of senior citizens, declaring that old age must never become a sentence of neglect, abuse, or abandonment.
Speaking at the 2026 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day commemoration in Umuahia, themed “Beyond Awareness: Making Elder Abuse Prevention Work,” the Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Priscilla Otti, stated that the government would continue to strengthen social protection programmes and fully implement the Abia State Senior Citizens Law to guarantee the care, protection, and inclusion of older persons.
Represented by the Wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adaeze Emetu, Mrs. Otti described senior citizens as repositories of wisdom, sacrifice, and resilience whose contributions to society deserve recognition and respect.
“Our elderly citizens built the families and communities we enjoy today, yet many still face abandonment, abuse, isolation, poor healthcare, and financial insecurity. These realities should trouble every conscience,” she said.
She noted that the state government has continued to pay pensions promptly as a recognition of retirees’ years of service and a means of ensuring dignity in retirement. The administration has also implemented economic empowerment programmes, cash support initiatives, medical outreaches, and the distribution of food items and clothing to elderly persons across the state’s 17 local government areas.
Mrs. Otti commended the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Mrs. Ngozi Blessing Felix, for her initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of senior citizens. She called on families, communities, and institutions to complement government efforts by creating safe and supportive environments for older persons.
“Let us build the kind of Abia we would all be proud to grow old in a state where every senior citizen lives with dignity, security, and respect,” she stated.
Earlier, Commissioner Ngozi Blessing Felix emphasised the government’s commitment to translating awareness into concrete actions that protect elderly persons from abuse and neglect. She stressed that a society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members.
Delivering the keynote address, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Monitoring and Evaluation, Mazi Ugochukwu Okororafor, described elder abuse as a growing global concern driven by loneliness, neglect, age-related illnesses, financial exploitation, and other social challenges. He commended the Abia State Government for establishing the Abia Senior Citizens Centre, which registers elderly residents and coordinates welfare services.
In his goodwill message, the Coordinator of the Abia Senior Citizens Centre, Dr. Otti Nwaka, described older persons as custodians of society’s history, values, and culture.
“Our elders are the custodians of our culture, wisdom and history. To abuse or neglect them is to deny our own future,” he said.
The event attracted senior citizens, government officials, and other stakeholders committed to promoting the rights and welfare of older persons in Abia State.