Persons Living with Disabilities in Ogun State have decried the neglect and non-implementation of the state’s disability law.
This, according to them, has led to the ongoing exclusion from adequate education, health care, mobility and even transportation.
They stated this on Thursday during a conversation with stakeholders held at Justice Fati Lami Recreation Centre for the Disabled in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The event, organized by the Centre for Disability and Inclusion Africa (CDIA) in conjunction with the Joint Associations of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Ogun State chapter, was themed: “Ogun State Disability Law Review, What Counts Now”.
DAILY POST reports that the State Disability Law titled: “HB No. 12/OG/ 2017″ was signed in 2017 by the former governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
The law was signed to eliminate all forms of discrimination against PWD and equalise their opportunities in all aspects of life in society and for other matters incidental thereto.
Speaking at the event held in commemoration of the 2024 International Day of Persons With Disabilities, the executive director of the CDIA, Yinka Olaito, stated that the law had remained silent on other forms of disabilities like intellectual disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and albinism, stressing the need for them to also be recognized.
Olaito, while advocating for their right to inclusion, opined that PWDs should be given the capacity to contribute their quota to the development of the country.
He lamented that 60 per cent of the world’s population is PWD, as globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people currently experience significant disability, and over 27 million are from Nigeria.
The CDIA boss noted that their concerns include, fair housing, education and employment access, bridging of health disparity, improper cluster delineation, and the fact that people with disabilities have a 15-fold harder time finding accessible and affordable transportation than people without disabilities.
Olaito said, “Enough is enough; we should demand for our right and not beg for it; we demand for our right to inclusion.
“It is even more prevalent among females compared to males, 8.3% and 6.5%, respectively. There are a lot of ambiguities in access to quality education, skill acquisition, and health provision, among others.”
Similarly, the Ogun state chairman of JONAPWD, Micheal Ebohan, disclosed that the conditions of PWDs in the state were alarming, asserting that the implementation of the law would reduce the pain of its members.
Ebohan urged Governor Dapo Abiodun to take every possible step to expedite the implementation.
He said, “I feel, if the government can help us to commence the implementation of this law, this would reduce the pain of our people to a great extent.
“From the information we heard from the Ministry of Women Affairs, the reason for the delay in implementation is because there are some gaps in that law that need to be reviewed.”
PWDs decry neglect, lack of implementation of Ogun Disability Laws