Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) under Centre for Citizens With Disabilites (CCD), has appealed to Abia Government to domesticate the National Disability Act 2018, in order to promote wellbeing of persons with disabilities.
The people made the appeal in their separate speeches at a stakeholders’ forum on “Post COVID-19 and the Future of Abians with Disabilities,” held in Umuahia on Tuesday.
According to them, adopting the Act would protect them against discrimination and other harmful practices in society.
They also opined that the Act would further help their rehabilitation and integration in society. The group said that the law would further boost their potential and contributions to the socio-ecomomic development of the state.
In a remark, Mr David Anyaele, the Executive Director, Centre for Citizens With Disabilities, said that the Act, which was signed in 2019, had already been adopted by some states but Abia had yet to do so.
Anyaele, who was the convener of the forum, said that the group had sent copies of the Act to the Abia Assembly for domestication.
He said that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic exposed the level of discrimination, exlcusion and neglect of persons with disabilities in governance at the federal, state and local government levels.
He said that one of the objectives of the forum was to sensitise the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the areas of concern to citizens with disabilities on post COVID-19 recovery plans.
Mr Stanley Onyebuchi, the state Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, said that Abia was hostile to persons with disabilities.
He called on the legislature to urgently domesticate Act, adding that the lack of the legislstion aggravated the plight of his members in Abia.
Mr Wisdom Okechukwu, the state Chairman, National Association of the Blind, regretted that the state government had not sent PWD to the Nigeria Farm Craft Centre for the Blind for rehabilitation in the past four years.
Also, Mr Iroabuchi Alozie, the Chairman, National Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities, urged the government to help his members acquire gadgets to aid their mobility.
Mr Emeka Ikweagwu, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, said that the ministry always involved persons with disabilities in all its programmes.
The Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chris Ezem, said that the state had always supported persons with disabilities and would continue to do so through the MDAs.
Ezem, who was represented by Mr John Emejor, a Director in the Ministry of Information, said that government was under serious pressure to meet the enormous societal demand because of lean resources.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum, which was supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was attended by stakeholders from the government, civil society organisations and media, amongst others. (NAN)
