Persons living with leprosy at the Delta leprosy Home, in Eku town, near Warri, on Monday stormed Asaba, the state capital in protest over alleged fraudulent deductions in their monthly allowances and government insensitivity to their well-being.

The protesters, many of them, aged mothers and fathers, carried placards with various inscriptions and barricaded the gate of the State Ministry of Women Affairs, near the Inter-bau roundabout junction.

Also, many others brought with them sleeping mats and clothing, which they poured on the major road, leading to the Government House gate, along Anwai road, insisting they would rather die than return to the Eku camp.

Some of the protesters, mostly the able-bodied men, blocked the road, obstructing traffic and pedestrian movement, just as a team of police personnels battled tirelessly to clear the protesters and evacuate the logs of wood on the road.

Mr. Lucky Egbe, who is the chairman of the group, told newsmen that the state government had abandoned them to die of hunger in Eku, thereby bringing untold hardship upon them and their families.

He alleged that the continuous arbitrary cutting of their monthly allowances was the height of government’s insensitivity to their plight as citizens of the state, claiming that many of their members have died of hunger and sickness in the Eku camp.

“Former governor, James Ibori took us away from the road and settled us in the camp, at Eku. Then, the government was paying us eight thousand Naira for our monthly upkeep.

“But later, the Governor Uduaghan administration came up and slashed the allowance to six thousand Naira monthly.

“Now again, the Governor Okowa government has reduced our allowances to three thousand Naira, which is very unacceptable to us. This is the height of man’s insensitivity to his fellow man,” Egbe said.

Another member of the group, Mrs. Awotule Hitler, who lamented the sufferings of their members in the camp, said the members want to return to the road and beg for their daily bread rather than die of hunger in the camp.

She said the leadership of the group had held several meetings with representatives of the state government in the past, but to no avail, as their living condition continued to deteriorate abysmally.

Hitler disclosed that there are over 500 persons at the Eku resettlement camp, adding that the number have since reduced due to the death of some of their members, while many other left the camp to fend for themselves.

She said: “Before, they used to give us food twice, later they reduced our feeding to once a day, just like they also reduced our allowance from six thousand naira to three thousand naira monthly.

“We are tired of living in a camp of death, where there is no food, no care and no attention. Instead, we want to return to the road and fend for ourself through begging.

“Let them take their peanut allowance, and leave us to return to our begging, because welfare in the Eku camp is nothing to write home about.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Association of Persons Living with Disabilities(APLD), Delta chapter, Mr. Isaac Obruche, who responded to the protest, appealed to the members of the group to exercise patience with the state government.

He told newsmen that the issue of better welfare for members of the group has been a lingering issue over the years, appealing for calm among the aggrieved members.

“This issue is a lingering one, we are only trying to see how we can resolved it amicably, most especially now that we have a governor who is attentive and caring to the welfare of persons with disability.

“When this matter came up last time, the Commissioner for Women Affairs in the state, under whose purview the persons with disabilities fall into, actually saw reasons that the three thousand Naira allowance was too small.

“So, she went on to add nine hundred Naira to their allowance, making it three thousand, nine hundred as monthly allowance for members of the group,” Obruche said.

The chairman urged the group members to shun disturbances and violent conduct, assuring them that the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is concerned about their plight and was working towards giving them an improved welfare.

He reminded them that no meaningful agitation can yield result under chaos and anger, assuring of the state government’s commitment to better their lot.

“The truth is that we can not achieve any meaningful agitation with violence and chaos, thank God that we now have a friendly governor in the person of Senator Okowa.

“I can assure you all that the governor has a special interest and concern for the persons living with disabilities. I want to appeal for more patient, so that we can work with government to help us,” Obruche said.

Effort to speak with the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Omatsola Williams, proved abortive, as her office assistants told newsmen at the premises she was not around.