By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI – Over 50 visually challenged persons from in state, stormed the Government House, Owerri, to protest against what they called the “inexplicable exclusion of our members in the welfare packages of the state administration”.

The President of the Blind Association, Mr. Clinton Amaechi, who spoke during the protest, explained that they were “protesting the insensitivity of the government to our plight”.

Vanguard learnt that top security officials attached to the Government House parted with about N25,000 in their spirited attempt to persuade the protesters to disperse from the vicinity.

Amaechi said that this was the third time they were protesting what they called “insensitivity of the state government to the problems confronting the visually challenged persons in the state”.

He lamented that government has not been employing their graduate members and decried the non-establishment of a school for the blind in the state as promised by the government last year.

“The inexplicable stopped of the bursary allowance by the present administration to the blind undergraduates in the state is also part of the reason why we are protesting.

Since this administration came into power, the disabled persons in the state have been experiencing a whole lot of difficulties. So many of us have graduated and we don’t have jobs”, Amaechi lamented.