Campaign group shifts from “political inclusion” to “political participation,” demands bigger role for PWDs in APC structures
By Ishaq Dan-Imam, Lokoja
The political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections is already gathering momentum in Kogi State, as the Kogi APC Disability Campaign Network, KAD-CAN-WIN for Tinubu/Ododo 2027, has formally inaugurated its campaign structure with a declaration to mobilise more than 100,000 persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their networks across the state for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
The network, a coalition of politicians, party loyalists, activists and stakeholders with disabilities within the All Progressives Congress (APC), inaugurated its campaign leadership in Lokoja on Wednesday, setting the stage for what its leaders described as a coordinated political mobilisation of the disability community ahead of the 2027 presidential and governorship elections.
At the inauguration, Director-General of the Kogi APC Disability Campaign Network, Hon. Yakubu Abdulhakeem Nazir, said the initiative was not merely about voting but about transforming persons with disabilities from passive recipients of political promises into active participants in political campaigns, decision-making and governance.
According to him, the disability community in Kogi State has begun mobilising not only persons with disabilities but also their families, friends, associates and supporters across political divides to support the re-election bids of Tinubu and Ododo.
Nazir attributed the decision to support the APC candidates to what he described as the impact of the administrations of President Tinubu and Governor Ododo on persons with disabilities through policies and programmes which, he said, had provided greater political opportunities and recognition for the disability community.
From Political Inclusion to Political Participation
One of the major messages from the inauguration was the network’s decision to move beyond the traditional demand for political inclusion and embrace what it described as political participation.
Nazir explained that while inclusion remained important, the disability community must now take a more active role in political organisation, mobilisation, electioneering and governance.
He said persons with disabilities should not only be recognised during election periods but should be involved in the political structures where decisions affecting their lives are made.
“As we formally inaugurate the Kogi APC Disability Campaign Network, I call upon every executive member, every stakeholder, and every member of this network to understand the enormous responsibility that lies before us,” Nazir said.
“This network must not exist merely in name. It must become an active and effective political structure.
“Let us take the message of inclusion, unity, progress, and responsible political participation to every ward, every Local Government Area, and every senatorial district across Kogi State by organising, mobilising, educating, and encouraging the electorate to vote for APC in all elections.”
‘Give Us a Seat at the Table’
The campaign network’s Director-General also called on the leadership of the APC in Kogi State to ensure that persons with disabilities are deliberately integrated into campaign structures at every level.
He urged party leaders to move beyond symbolic recognition and create meaningful opportunities for PWDs to contribute to the party’s political strategy and electoral mobilisation.
Nazir specifically called for the involvement of persons with disabilities in campaign activities from the state level down to senatorial districts, local government areas and wards.
He said PWDs should be engaged, listened to and consulted rather than being remembered only when their votes are needed.
“Carry persons with disabilities along by engaging us; listening to us; consulting us; involving us in all campaign programmes and giving us a seat at the table,” he said.
According to him, elections are fundamentally about numbers, and the disability community represents a significant voting bloc that political parties cannot afford to ignore.
“If election is a game of number, we have a huge number of active politicians, party loyalists, voters, families, politically-inclined activists and political rights campaigners fully working with over one hundred thousand PWD voters across the state in support of the electoral fortunes of the APC,” Nazir stated.
Why APC?
Addressing the question of why the disability campaign network had chosen to support the APC, Nazir pointed to what he described as the party’s record on disability inclusion and political participation since the return of democratic governance in 1999.
He cited the enactment of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, under an APC-led Federal Government, describing it as a major legal framework for the protection, dignity and inclusion of persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
“But our story does not end at the national level,” he said.
Nazir also referenced the administration of former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, CON, saying his administration took steps towards establishing the Kogi State Office for Disability Affairs as an institutional platform for advancing disability inclusion within the state.
He argued that these developments, coupled with what he described as increased political opportunities for PWDs, had strengthened the relationship between the disability community and the APC in Kogi State.
‘Much Is Given to Us, We Must Give Much More’
While expressing appreciation to successive APC administrations in Kogi State for what he described as their political consideration for persons with disabilities, Nazir said the disability community also had a responsibility to reciprocate through active political participation.
“Much is given to us and we must give much more to the Tinubu and Ododo administrations,” he said.
He further stated that under the APC-led administration in Kogi State, persons with disabilities had experienced increased recognition in the areas of political inclusion and participation.
The campaign network therefore intends to translate that political recognition into an organised electoral structure capable of reaching PWD voters across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
Kogi Government Building PWD Database
Speaking at the inauguration, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo on Disability Matters, Hon. Mukaila Sheidu, disclosed that the Kogi State Government was developing a comprehensive database of persons with disabilities across the state’s 21 Local Government Areas.
According to Sheidu, the database would help the government better understand the population and needs of persons with disabilities and improve the design and implementation of intervention programmes targeted at the disability community.
He said the initiative was also expected to strengthen economic planning and contribute to the general wellbeing of persons with disabilities and the wider population of the state.
The development of a reliable disability database has long been considered important for effective planning, particularly in determining the number, location and specific needs of persons with disabilities.
Campaign Secretary Pledges 100,000 Votes
The Secretary of the campaign network, Ibrahim Daniel Arome, expressed confidence that the disability community in Kogi State would deliver more than 100,000 votes for President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Arome said the network was prepared to deploy its structures and grassroots connections across the state to mobilise voters and promote the APC’s candidates.
The declaration represents one of the strongest political mobilisation claims yet to emerge from the disability community in Kogi ahead of the 2027 elections.
PWDs Seek Bigger Political Role
Beyond the immediate electoral objective, the inauguration also highlighted a broader political aspiration among persons with disabilities in Kogi State: a transition from being regarded primarily as beneficiaries of government programmes to becoming active political stakeholders.
The network’s leadership stressed that persons with disabilities possess the political experience, organisational capacity and numerical strength required to influence electoral outcomes.
The argument is that PWDs should not only be courted during election campaigns but should also have greater representation in party leadership, campaign councils, government appointments and policy-making structures.
For the KAD-CAN-WIN campaign network, the 2027 elections therefore present an opportunity to demonstrate that persons with disabilities are not merely a demographic group to be counted but an organised political constituency capable of mobilising, campaigning and influencing electoral outcomes.
Appointment Letters Presented to Campaign Officials
A major highlight of the inauguration was the presentation of appointment letters to members of the campaign network.
The ceremony also featured goodwill messages from patrons, political stakeholders and leaders within the disability community, who expressed support for the initiative and encouraged members of the network to remain united and committed to their political objectives.
Among those who commended the initiative were prominent PWD politicians in the state, including Joash Femi Onimayin and Solomon Yahaya.
They described the formation of the campaign network as a strategic political move capable of giving persons with disabilities a stronger voice within the APC and strengthening their participation in the 2027 electoral process.
A New Political Test for Kogi’s Disability Community
With the 2027 elections still ahead, the Kogi APC Disability Campaign Network now faces the task of converting its ambitious mobilisation plans into a functioning grassroots political structure.
Its leaders have promised to take their campaign to wards, local government areas and senatorial districts across Kogi State, while mobilising PWDs, their families and supporters around the Tinubu/Ododo re-election agenda.
Whether the network will ultimately deliver the projected 100,000-plus PWD votes remains a question for the ballot box.
But one message from the Lokoja inauguration was unmistakable: persons with disabilities in Kogi are seeking to redefine their place in electoral politics—from voters who are mobilised by others to political actors who organise, mobilise and demand a seat at the table.
As the road to 2027 gradually unfolds, the political strength, organisational capacity and electoral influence of Kogi’s disability community will be closely watched—not only by the APC, but by political actors across the state’s political divide.
