THE APC PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PWDS) SUPPORT GROUP JUSTIFIED PRESIDENT BUHARI’S DECISION OF THE DISSOLUTION OF THE NWC AND THEY CONGRATULATED THE CARETAKER COMMITTEE AND EXTRAORDINARY NATIONAL CONVENTION COMMITTEE AND HAILED THE PARTY FOR INCLUSIVE THEIR APPOINTMENT.

By APC PWDs Support Group
It is impossible to separate mankind from the adversities of life. A crisis has inherently been a challenge to humanity, but it has also been one of the single greatest tools that have been used for human development and innovation. You don’t run into success by accident. But you can run into prosperity by an incident. While no one admires incidents and issues, crisis are effective tools for self-realization. Successful individuals and organizations have reached the pinnacle of their success thanks to their improbable encounters with great challenges. Times of personal and organizational uncertainties are equally time for significant changes and self-reflection.
Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), has faced an awful lot of internal crises and associated disputes over the past several months. While there is nothing inherently wrong about a major internal crisis—like large organizations must experience to evolve, the President had realized that the dissolution of the party leadership would be in the best interest of the party going forward. As hard a decision it was for the president, the termination of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC can bring about significant changes and prospects for more remarkable accomplishments in the coming years.

Dissolution of the NWC for restructuring and repositioning
Terminating the NWC by the President Muhammadu Buhari during lengthy internal challenges can help to make the party reposition itself more strategically. In theory, our party can be leaner, more efficient, better organized, and better focused on its core objectives with a revised strategic and associated plan. Protracted internal wrangling can expose the party to potential hazards such as explosion. This will be incredibly, irreparably damaging to the survival of Nigeria as a nation. Because, given the enormity of what our country had been through in the years before our ascension as the ruling party, a fractured party will bring back a healing nation to the sorry point it was before our party took charge.

Dissolution of the NWC and party autonomy
The president intended to institute party unity on the heels of a protracted party watershed. Following the leadership suspension due to a crisis can make members and individuals realize that after all is said and done, it is the party that remains. The president was rightfully sending a clear message that no individual, regardless of their status is bigger than the APC. No one can be superior to an institution. Everyone had to let go and every one of us had to see, once more, how the autonomy and the sovereignty of our great party supersede other entities which by all means remain secondary to our great party.

Dissolution of the NWC and self-reflection
Crunch moments call for individuals and institutions to subject themselves to self-reflection. Clear thinking helps to move things forward. This current pandemic has dissolved events and entities and put lives on hold. But it has pushed all of us to look back and think over some of the events that had taken place in our lives, as well as some of the actions and decisions that we have made. Engaging in self-reflection is a great way to be better and to evolve.
Rather than see the termination of the NWC as the wrong step by the president, we should see it as a means for a better repositioning, for better autonomy, and a means for all of us to have a perspective that says, “This crisis and the NWC dissolution is a way for us to see things much more clearly and in far beaming light, that way, we can develop effective and efficient systems of taking the party forward and realizing the goals and the objectives for which the organization was established.

In Recognition of Caretaker Committee and Extraordinary Convention Committee and Inclusiveness
We congratulate the Caretaker Committee and Extraordinary Convention Committee for the inclusive appointment that was made not only in line with international best practices but also as per the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which makes provision for the political participation of people with disabilities. It is the recognition of the APC PWD Support Group– as the only recognized  Support Group for APC Disability Political Movement to work extremely closely with the Caretaker Committee, through the Office of the National Disability Leader towards achieving a successful party convention and enhance an agenda that would advance the interest of our party, as well as the APC community of the disabled nation-wide.

Mr Chuks Ezewuzie, Special Adviser to Anambra Gov. Willie Obiano on Disability Matters, has said that persons with disability are mostly worst hit in times of pandemic measures compliance.

Ezewuzie said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Awka.

He said that government should make special considerations to be accorded to such persons at all times irrespective of the happenstance.

“If special rights are accorded persons with special needs in the state at all times, people with disability would not be hindered or endangered in time of pandemic or other civic responsibility,” he said.

Ezewuzie urged persons living with disabilities in Anambra to continue to abide by all COVID-19 preventive guidelines and assured that efforts would be made to give a permanent directive as it concerned their welfare in times of disaster.

He said that it had become imperative to proffer a lasting measure in issues affecting persons of special needs in disaster era as disabled persons were the worst hit during emergencies.

Ezewuzie said that a blind or lame man could not maintain social distancing without assistance of an aide because they needed somebody to move them around their desired destinations at all times.

“We do not need to wait for an era of emergencies to plan for the special persons in our midst.

“Concrete plans on how to give them care and give them a sense of belonging should be all time plan, not in pandemic or national calls,” he said.

He advised persons living with disabilities to, as much as possible, shun all forms of clustering and social gathering at the moment for their own good until the challenges of COVID -19 were drastically reduced.

Ezewuzie said that he was confident that the government would put in place permanent measures that would accord persons with needs special attention at all times either during elections, census or pandemic era.

He said that Obiano administration had shown commitment in the affairs and well-being of the persons with special needs and was certain of his willingness to support the group always.

Ezewuzie commended the Anambra State COVID-19 response team for the excellent job they were doing in management of the pandemic as evident in the low record of the case of the pandemic.

He further advised the residents to always care for the special persons in their area as much as they could as a way of serving humanity.

Ezewuzie urged residents and persons with disability in the state to keep observing all the COVID-19 precautionary measures to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading to the communities and as support to fight the spread.

The MoU stipulates that Alwaleed Philanthropies will provide over $2 million over one year, and aims to build local capacity to produce sanitizers and protective equipment such as face masks

JEDDAH: Ten African countries are to benefit from a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Alwaleed Philanthropies and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) to address the adverse repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MoU aims to provide food assistance most notably to the elderly, people with disabilities, female victims of violence, orphans, refugees and medical patients in Niger, Senegal, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Mauritania and Cote d’Ivoire.

The MoU stipulates that Alwaleed Philanthropies will provide over $2 million over one year, and aims to build local capacity to produce sanitizers and protective equipment such as face masks.

“We are proud of our partnership with ICESCO marked by many years of humanitarian initiatives to meet the urgent and long-term needs of the neediest categories around the globe,” said Princess Lamia bint Majed Al-Saud, secretary-general of Alwaleed Philanthropies.

“This initiative will empower women and young entrepreneurs by making them assume the principal role in the fight against coronavirus.”

ICESCO Director General Dr. Salim Al-Malik said Alwaleed Philanthropies founder Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal “has always been a champion for this noble cause.”

Al-Malik added: “We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Alwaleed Philanthropies as an icon for others to follow.” (ARAB NEWS)

Innovative development consulting firm, VS Management & Consulting (VSMC) firm, has launched the VSMC Relief Outreach to provide timely relief materials to low-income residents across Festac and Mile 2 communities of Lagos state.

Inspired by the desire to cushion the negative effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the lives of Nigerians, the organization, through the financial support received from well-meaning Nigerians, donated food items to 60 beneficiaries on Saturday, July 4, 2020.

In partnership with Mamamoni Women Empowerment and Stanforte Edge, VSMC assisted these communities, especially people with disabilities, and widows who fall within this category of people mostly affected by the pandemic.

According to Adeyemi Asaba, the Lead Consultant of VSMC, “VSMC is on this mission because we want people with disabilities and widows to know that they have a support system they can always rely on, and they can rest assured that many organisations and individuals really care about them”.

He further explained that the donation of food items was made possible by the generous support of well-meaning individuals. “We had put out a call for donation for about 3 weeks and so much positive responses were received from home and abroad to support this cause, we are accountable to the donors and we are glad that despite the pandemic we could make some Nigerians smile with sufficient meals.”

According to Mrs Onuka Oluchi, one of the beneficiaries of the outreach expressed her gratitude to the VSMC team, for the initiative of the donation of food items. “This is a welcome development and it encourages those of us who do not have anything. When COVID started, we had no support to keep going, but this initiative will help us get through the period”. She further said, “It takes a golden hand to be able to remember others. God bless VSMC and the various donors towards the project and the gesture from them is really touching lives.”

Mr. Ariyibi Sulaimon, who in the company of his son said, “I’m very happy and appreciative of the packages given, especially to people with disabilities. With VSMC and other organizations, like this, we are hopeful that more gestures of this kind would be provided for us”.

VSMC expects to scale this impact to other communities in Lagos and it environs, according to Adeyemi, “in the near future we expect more collaboration like this. In the long run, they will be critical in making societies sustainable and people’s lives better.” (Guardian)

By Judith Obazee

Some civil society leaders and government officials have advised Nigeria and some other countries in Africa to work towards adopting and ratifying the Africa Disability Protocol (ADP).

They made the call during a recent two-day virtual conference that brought together key stakeholders in Africa.

The ADP is a development that is expected to lead to considerable improvements in the lives of African people with disabilities. The Protocol addresses some of the urgent issues that have the most disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, such as poverty, systemic discrimination and harmful practices.

Six countries such as Central African Republic, Rwanda, Togo, South Africa, Gabon and BurkinaFaso have adopted and ratified the Protocol in their countries.

In her opening remark, the Chair, Africa Down Syndrome Network and Convener Mrs. Rose Mordi, stressed the need for all African countries to adopt and ratify the African Protocol.

According to her, her network was mandated, in 2019, to ensure that all African Nations adopt the African Disability Protocol especially Nigeria.

She emphasised the fact that the main reason for the convention was to pave the way for the ratification and adoption of the ADP, after which governments in the continent would be encouraged to adopt and ratify it.

On her part, the United Nations Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Comfort Lamptey, in her keynote speech, stated that it was important to amplify the voices of women with disability, saying their inclusion in decision making could serve to develop a more inclusive and sustainable response and recovery plan from the Covid-19 pandemic for the whole nation.

The Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on SDGs, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said there was need for supervision through proactive community and voluntary measures. According to her, if the measures are put in place, they would help support people with disabilities.

Also, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, pledged her support to the disability community and assured the organisers of the event that her door was always open for continuous engagements to ensure that the rights of women and girls with disabilities are not trampled upon. She also assured that she would help in getting the support of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

In his goodwill message delivered to the Nigerian Citizens by Mr. Jeff Hoffman, a global entrepreneur, emphasised the need for inclusive continuous technology driven education in the country citing its relevance especially during pandemic periods like now.
He strongly stated that people with disabilities want to be part of the discussion and as such, they should be part of the process for education in the future.

Source: ThisDay

The 2 Div. of the Nigerian Army, Ibadan, on Saturday distributed palliatives to at least 500 indigent families in Ibadan as part of activities to mark the 2020 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADEL).

Persons with Disabilities and the elderly were among beneficiaries of the palliatives.

The items distributed at the IMT Primary School Oriaje in Idi-Arere and Government Technical College Orita-Aperin, Oranyan area, Ibadan were Rice, Spaghetti, Milk, Vegetable Oil, and sachet Tomato paste.

Distributing the items, Maj.-Gen. Anthony Omozoje, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), the division, said that the distribution was part of the army’s social responsibility aimed at improving on the lives of the vulnerable.

Omozoje, who was represented by Brig.-Gen. Kolo Isoni, said it was the desire of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Turkur Buratai, to improve on the living standard of the less privileged.

“The Chief of Army Staff has always had it in mind to improve the lives of the vulnerable.

“So, as part of the activities marking the Nigerian Army Day Celebration for 2020 (NADCEL), the Chief of Army Staff has directed that palliatives be given to the less privileged.

“And that is what we are doing today,” Omozoje said.

The GOC urged Nigerians not to lose hope in spite of the challenges occasioned by the ravaging coronavirus.

He urged them to keep adhering to the protocol against the virus, saying that things would get better.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries in Idi-Arere, Mr Joseph Akande expressed appreciation to the Army for the gesture.

“It is our pleasure to see you with the palliatives you brought to our community. God will continue to empower you.

“I pray on to God to assist the Army win the war against Boko Haram and other security challenges,” Akande said.

In his remark, Mr Kunle Ayorinde, a community Leader in Oranyan, thanked the GOC for remembering the community.

“We are very happy with the arrangement made by the officers, who ensured that the majority of the beneficiaries of this palliative are the elderly, especially during this coronavirus.

“The arrangement made by the officers is very encouraging,”Ayorinde said.

Center for Ability, Rehabilitation and Empowerment in Nigeria( CARE-Nigeria) has demanded inclusion of persons with disabilities in 774, 000 jobs proposed by Ministry of Labour, Employment & Productivity.

The Executive Director of CARE-Nigeria, Dr. Chike Okogwu in a letter dated 1st July, 2020, addressed to Office of The Honourable Ministry of State, Labour, Festus Keyamo SAN said that the disability community was taken aback when in all the press release and statement of the job opportunities, no specific or clearcut mention of PWDs.

Dr. Chike, who is also one of the conveners of Coalition of Disability Organizations and a stakeholder of Joint National Association of Persons with disabilities(JONAPWD) in this letter titled CLEAR NON-INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE 774,000 EARMARKED NATIONWIDE JOB RECRUITMENT EXERCISE, lamented that stakeholders of disability community were not invited or consulted to make inputs in the conception stage of the recruitment exercise. It is completely in negation of PART VI, No.29 of Nigeria Disability Act which was historically signed by President Buhari in January, 2018.

He urged the ministry of state etch his name in history by including PWDs in this exercise.

He concluded by proposing a consultative stakeholder meeting to discuss and chat harmonious strategies for PWDs inclusion in the laudable programme.

We learnt that Ministry of State, Barrister Festus Keyamo in his response confirmed that the state chairmen of National Directorate pf Employment have been directed to capture PWDs.

Based on this response, CARE-Nigeria is calling on JONAPWD state chairmen to immediately engage all National Directorate of Employment offices to demand at least 5% of the jobs are reserved for PWDs in accordance with Part VI, No. 29 of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on Saturday 4th July, 2020 distributed palliatives to 540 Persons With Disabilities, in Kwali Area Council, Abuja.

The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, speaking at the event through her Special Assistant on Disability Matters, Hon. Danjuma Attah, stated that the distribution of the palliatives is a continuation of the Federal Government effort of Covid19 outreach to the Persons with disabilities which was flagged off on the 9th of May 2020 at Karmajiji disabled community.

Stating that the exercise is in line with the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari to ease the effect of Covid19 lockdown on the vulnerable persons which includes the Persons With Disabilities.

Speaking further, he encouraged persons with disabilities to participate fully in the ongoing N-power registration, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the inclusion and special consideration for the People With Disabilities in the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).

The host, Chairman Kwali Area Council, Hon. Danladi Chiya who was represented by the Kwali Area Council Permanent Secretary, Mallam Bako Pai expressed their gratitude to the Federal Government for the kind gesture. He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been doing well in supporting the vulnerable especially persons with disabilities in this Covid-19 lockdown. Adding that this items will go a long way in supporting the livelihood of the beneficiaries during this period.

The beneficiaries were elated by the gesture from the federal government describing it as life saving gesture. Speaking through their Chairman, Mr. Festus Yakubu(blind), they thank God for what happened because it will go a long way to cushion the economic effect of the lockdown on them.

540 bags of palliatives each containing; 5kg vegetable oil, 10kg of rice, 5kg of semovita, 10pcs of spaghetti, 1 carton of Indomie, and 1 wrapper, were distributed to 540 beneficiaries.

SOME PICTURES OF THE EVENT:

Persons with disabilities have been encouraged once again to apply for the ongoing N-Power programme because Federal Government is serious about reserving 10 percent of the entire applicants for persons with disabilities.

Hon. Danjuma Atta, the special adviser to the Minister of Humanitarians Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development disclosed this on Saturday 4 july, 2020 in Kwali Area Council, Abuja during the ministry’s palliative distribution to over 400 households of persons with disabilities in Kwali Area Council in line with the Minister’s resolve to reach out to 3.1 million households of persons with disabilities across the country.

Danjuma Atta who is also a person with disability(Blind) speaking on behalf of his minister, Haijah Sadiya Umar Farouk at the event reassured persons with disabilities on the commitment of the minister to continue to mainstream person with disabilities in all FG social intervention programme and that welfare of persons with disabilities is paramount to the minister.

He said that persons with disabilities should make themselves available and present themselves in order to benefit from these programmes. He urged qualified persons with disabilities to apply for the going N-power registration exercise because government have put plans in place to admit large number of persons with disabilities.

Watch his Speech at the Event: