Nigeria’s Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, called for establishing a Disability Commission across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday.
The Minister gave this charge in Abuja while declaring open the 2023 International Day of Persons with Disabilities. She urged subnational Governments and State Houses of Assembly to establish, domesticate, and fully implement disability laws.
She also called for a significant improvement in the budget for the Commission for Disabled Persons in Nigeria, stating that there is no segregation under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to Dr. Edu, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already directed that 10% of all intervention programs of the Ministry be allocated to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), emphasizing that the president runs an inclusive administration.
“President Tinubu is prepared and committed to doing everything possible to see that PWDs take center stage in our country’s development.
Hence, he began by signing the African Charter for Persons with Disability, which ensures that your rights have been protected. We are celebrating today five years of having a law in Nigeria that protects you.
“I want to use this medium to call on our state governments to establish and, for those who have established already, to domesticate persons with disabilities laws and Commissions across the country,” she said.
Dr. Edu emphasized, “Doing this will give PWDs equal rights and voices as citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and will enable us to have seamless programs that can reach the grassroots in all the 774 Local Government Areas of Nigeria.
“We have the President’s backing; we must protect persons with disabilities so we are calling strongly for the creation of all accessibility mediums for persons with disabilities in all public and private buildings in the country.”
Regarding the need to improve the budget of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Minister said, “The budget allocation to the Disability Commission needs significant improvement from the 2024 budget moving forward.
“On behalf of 35.5 million Nigerians who fall within the PWDs category, we are pleading with the very dynamic and uncommon leadership we have at the National Assembly to please improve on the budget for the Commission for Disabled Persons in Nigeria. We plead with National Assembly members to channel some of their constituency projects to persons with Disability.”
At the event, Dr. Edu made a symbolic presentation and distribution of thousands of assistive devices to people with disabilities which will be shared across the country, to states and LGAs assuring them of President Tinubu’s solidarity.
Some of the devices include Orbit readers, collapsible guide claim, iPhone Pro Max with optical characters, typewriters jaw screen readers, laptops with jaws, the talking watch, digital magnifiers, low vision lamps, the charisma share water, the beauty blocks for CWA, the talking toys for CWA, the doorbell for the deaf, the speech-to-text for the deaf, the alerting devices, the digital hearing aids, the HP laptops, sewing machines, hair dryers, air cleaners, motorized wheelchairs of different types clutches among others.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), Mr. James Lalu, commended President Tinubu for appointing Dr. Edu as Minister supervising the commission.
Mr. Lalu, who described the Minister as the ambassador of the disability community, lauded her for providing innovative and dynamic leadership in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. “President Tinubu has given us a Betta hand.”
“She takes this Commission as a priority in the Ministry, and we are very grateful,” Lalu said.
The Minister also launched the gazetted and simplified copy of the Disability regulation law and regulations for implementation, after which she, alongside other dignitaries, inspected the exhibition stands to showcase items manufactured by Persons with Disabilities.
