by Chris Agbo
Nigerians with Disabilities have placed a demand to President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint at least a person with disability as minister to represent a 27 million Nigerians living with disabilities in Federal Executive Council.
Addressing a press conference, the Executive Director of the Center for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), David Obinna Anyaele expressed his displeasure over the non-inclusion of PWDs in the list submitted to the Senate for screening by the President.
He noted that the objective of this press conference was to raise awareness over the grievous exclusion of Nigeria with disabilities in the list of Ministerial nominees and the delay in the implementation of the National Disability Act by the government.
As he thanked Mr. President once again for signing National Disability Act, which ended the 18 years struggle to secure a legislation that would protect more than 25 million Nigeria with disabilities against discrimination and other harmful practices, he expressed that dissatisfaction of PWDs over the exclusion of PWDs in the list of the ministerial nominee that President Buhari sent to the Senate without a single person with disability in the list, describing it as a total disregard to the provision in part 6, section 29 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act.
We call on President Mohammadu Buhari to speedily send at least three additional competent names of persons with disabilities as ministerial nominees to enable them join other nominees for screening at the Senate.
We are worried that the leadership of the 9th session of the National Assembly (President and Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives) have made appointment to their offices. Only the Speaker House of Representatives appointed a person with disability as an aid.
We call on the leadership of the 9th session of the National Assembly (President and Deputy Senate President as well as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives) to appoint persons with disabilities as aids in other to fill the 5% employment reservation for persons with disabilities in the National Assembly.
We demand that President Mohammadu Buhari implement part 7, section 31 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 without further delay through establishment of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD).
He used the platform to thank all those that sponsored the bill since year 2000 at the National Assembly, these distinguished Nigerians include: Sen. Chris Adighije, Hon. Jerry Ugokwe, Sen. Bode Olajumoke, Hon. Abike Dabiri, Sen. Nurudeen Abatimi-Usman, Sen. Francis Alimikhena and Hon. Ochiglegor Idogbo as well as their colleagues at 5, 6, 7 and 8 sessions of the National Assembly.
He recognized that the success of the passage and assent of the President on the National Disability Act were achieved with uncommon push from the Nigeria Media, with special support from our partners (OSIWA, RoLAC, The Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australian High Commission Abuja) amongst others.
He highlighted the fact that the purpose of the Act is for the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society and establishes the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and vests the commission with the responsibilities for their education, health care, social, economic and civil rights.
The passage of the Disability Act, Nigeria has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPD) and its optional protocols which provides that states parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; Prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability with regard to all matters concerning all forms of employment, including conditions of recruitment, hiring and employment, continuance of employment, career advancement and safe and healthy working conditions.
The Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 provides that a person with disability shall not be discriminated against on the ground of his disability by any person or institution in any manner or circumstance. Therefore, it also provides that “all employers of labour in public organisation shall as much as possible have person with disabilities constituting at least 5% of their employment”. Ministerial, Special Advisers, and Special Assistants appointments are inclusive.
He ended by expressing a concern that unemployment among persons with disabilities is estimated to be more than 97% in Nigeria, with many employers of labour assuming that PWDs are unable to work.
