Mr James David Lalu, the Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) on Wednesday inaugurated Secretariat for National Disability Partners Group and Review of Policy Document to coordinate implementation of NCPWD’s five-year Strategic Development Plan.
Mr. James Lalu speaking during the inauguration, said that Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) comprises of 15 percent of Nigeria’s population going by WHO estimation therefore, the needs in the disability community is huge and he reassured his commitment towards promoting disability inclusion.
He informed that it is coming together of the World Bank (WB), Foreign and Common Wealth Office of the British High Commission and Sightsavers to form the NDPG which is very important to promote disability inclusive development.
He stated that the partners are ready and willing to provide all the necessary technical and financial support to support the Commission to enable us achieve the long, short and medium term target as we set in our five year Strategic Development Plan.
“The partners have already shown their commitment; we welcome them with the the beautiful idea and it is a very important thing for us as an institution to set the pace; that is why we are setting up a secretariat here”.
“One of the functions of the Secretariat is to ensure the implementation of the five year Strategic Development Plan, then bringing the total commitment of everybody, organizations on disability in Nigeria, whether local or international,”.
He explained that the secretariat would also carry out activities to be able to provide data on what is happening in the disability community, including the impact, beneficiaries and many others.
Lalu added that ten per cent slot in the National Social Investment Programme has been allocated to the disability community, adding that the commission is working to fill up the slot.
“We are also working on so many areas to benefit PWDs and we inaugurated the Secretariat today”.
Dr Adebukola Adebayo, the Technical Assistant of the Executive Secretary, NCPWD from the World Bank said disability is a multi-sectoral issue, adding that it cut across all aspects of life.
He said there are a lot of international development partners, Civil Society Organisations and organised private sectors, working across sectors such as Education, Agriculture, health, transportation and others.
Adebayo, it is important to harmonise these efforts, stressing that the NCPWD, World Bank, Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the British High Commission and Sightsavers came together to set up the Secretariat.
“The primary goal is to provide technical and financial support to the Commission, to meet its mandate across all these sectors.
”So in the long run, the whole idea is to ensure that whatever is done in the support of PWDs are documented and harmonised to avoid duplication, waste of resources and unnecessary competition.
“To also ensure consolidation and complementarity of efforts across the sectors. That is the major goal the NDPG is set up to achieve.
“The secretariat of the NDPG is domicile at the Commission and run by it staff, but with the technical and other form of support from development partners,” he said.
TQM reports that members of the Secretariat are Mr Abba Isawa as Coordinator, Adewale Olasoji Ebenezer, Director PRS,NCPWD, Mrs Olanike Akinbola, Head of Women and Gender Unit, Barriste Ikem Uchegbulam, Director, Compliance, Mariam Saleh Hassan as Legal Adviser, James Hassan as Director Human Resource, Haruna Mohammed as Technical Adviser, Fatima Doki Abubakar and Maria Kamba.
