To have an inclusive Government, The Osun State House Of Assembly has finally announced the presentation of the inclusion of the Disability Bill.
This was announced during the House plenary on Tuesday by The Speaker, Hon Adewale Egbedun at the Assembly Complex in Osogbo.
The Bill is aimed at protecting the people living with disabilities across the state. Several attempts made to make the bill presented at the past assemblies failed, but hope was regained when a lawmaker representing Obokun State Constituency, Hon. Adewunmi Adeyemi presented the bill in the Assembly.
In an interview with Adeyemi by Insight Media, who received the leadership of the Joint Association of Persons Living With Disabilities (JONAPWDs), the Osun State Chapter said that it was in the best interest of the State, adding that the Governor will be much ready to sign it.
He said, ” I appreciate JONAPWDs for the good work they are doing and for the visit to my office. The bill is to protect the interest of people living with disabilities in Osun State. It has been read in the house and very soon it will begin to pass the first reading, second reading, and third reading as well as assented to by the Governor.”
The bill will prohibit discrimination against people living with disabilities, grant them access to free education, free healthcare, access to government property and at least 10 percent of government employment opportunities.‘’It simply means that there will be a percentage given to the people living with disabilities in terms of employment, providing a sense of belonging to them’’, Adeyemi said.
The leadership of JONAPWDs were present at the chamber of the Osun State Assembly to witness the presentation of the bill. The chairman of Osun State JONAPWDs, Mr Stephen Oluwafemi while speaking with InsightMedia expressed the happiness of the association on the development, stating that the association has been on the bill for 12 years.
Oluwafemi said “I’m so glad because what we have prayed for a long period is coming into fruition. We want the bill to be domesticated in Osun as it has been passed at the national level. We are happy because we have been expecting this day. We hope the bill will be passed this year so that by next year we will start a new life and it will be an achievement in our lives because we will have the feeling of inclusion in Osun state.”
Oluwafemi stated that the Association has been working on this bill since 12 years ago, and they are glad it is finally coming into existence.
The disability bill has been passed at the National Assembly since 2019 and states like Lagos and Ondo have domesticated the bill. Hopefully, the bill will also be domesticated and implemented in Osun as demanded by the JONAPWDs.
