The wife of Abia State Governor, Mrs Priscilla Otti, has provided N20 million in financial assistance and food items to 400 women living with disabilities in the state.

The support was presented on Friday during an outreach organised for women with disabilities in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

Otti, who is the founder of the Safe Tent Care Initiative, said the intervention was aimed at providing practical support to people facing economic hardship and ensuring that women living with disabilities received the same attention accorded other women during the recent August Meeting.

“This has been a long time coming, and this is just the start. I want to promise you that this will be a very frequent intervention from my office,” she said.

She said persons living with disabilities continued to face challenges including unemployment, financial insecurity, medical expenses, limited mobility, poor accessibility, stigma and social exclusion.

According to her, her office had sustained engagement with the disability community since 2023, noting that more than 600 persons with disabilities benefited from a food and cash outreach in 2024.

She added that about 100 entrepreneurs living with disabilities received business support through a partnership with her office in 2025.

Otti said the interventions were not intended as mere charity, but as part of efforts to promote economic independence and resilience among vulnerable residents.

“This is not charity and not an end in itself; it is solidarity in action. We do not just believe in handouts. We believe in teaching our people to fish and not handing them fish,” she said.

She also disclosed that her office had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Directorate of Employment to train 200 women in vocational skills for three months and provide them with starter packs.

She said some of the beneficiaries of the programme would be reserved for women living with disabilities.

“These interventions may take different forms, but they are united by one purpose, to move from relief to resilience, from dependence to opportunity, and from vulnerability to greater economic independence,” Otti said.

The governor’s wife further said the National Community Food Bank for the South-East, recently launched by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in Anambra State, would support vulnerable groups, including widows, elderly persons, people living with disabilities, nursing mothers and children.

She disclosed that Abia State would soon establish its own community food bank and include persons living with disabilities among its beneficiaries.

The Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Blessing Ngozi Felix, said the state government had helped persons living with disabilities gain a greater sense of belonging.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Maureen Aghukwa, also said disability should not be a reason for exclusion or discrimination, describing persons living with disabilities as valuable members of society with talents and abilities to contribute to the development of the state.

Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Persons Living With Disabilities, David Anyaele, said the administration was focused on empowerment rather than palliatives.

He said the outreach was part of the 2026 Women with Disabilities August Meeting and was organised after the governor’s wife completed engagements with women across the state’s local government areas.