Laraba MUREY
Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has said public buildings across the nation lacking proper accessibility for persons with disabilities are set to face closure in 2024.
The minister disclosed this during the commemoration of 2023 International Day for Persons with Disabilities, organized by the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities.
She emphasized the need for public buildings to provide proper access for persons with disabilities, so as to eliminate the challenges they often face in navigating these spaces.
Edu also revealed that a task force will soon be constituted and will work diligently to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.
She addressed the disparity in the upcoming 2024 budget, asserting that the allocated funds for the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities are far from sufficient to meet the needs of the 35 million Nigerians with disabilities.
According to her, “Persons with disabilities take center stage in the development of our country, and your contributions remain foremost. President Bola Ahmed signed the African Charter for persons with disabilities, ensuring their rights are protected.
“We are celebrating five years of the law protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. This law must be domesticated in all states of Nigeria.
“We call upon all members of state assemblies and governors to expedite action. Today is significant; President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved 10% of every intervention in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty to be directed to persons with disabilities.
“Governors and state assemblies must expedite action to create these commissions. When we give him the list to create, he will process it smoothly from state to national.”
While noting that the budget presentation and approval for 2024 are approaching, the minister applead to members of the National Assembly and local government chairmen to improve the budget allocation for the disability commission in the 2024 budget, as 10% of the planned programs of the ministry have been allocated to persons with disabilities.
She said, “On behalf of 35 million Nigerians in this category, we plead with the dynamic leadership at the National Assembly to improve this allocation. The voice of the president, mine, and that of 35 million Nigerians in this category stand behind this plea.
“On World Disability Day, themed “Renewing Hope Together for a Disability Inclusive Society,” I love this Hall at the Shehu Yar Adua Center. One of the reasons is, unlike other public and private buildings in Nigeria, they do not have facilities that will support persons with disabilities. Even the federal secretariats and several offices where people work lack accessibility. Let’s lead by example; the law said so, and we are not begging; nobody is doing us a favor.
“The task force will soon move to ensure that every public building in Nigeria provides access for persons with disabilities. They do not need to stress to get to where they need to be. The president is already working on signing it. Once we constitute, we are sending the full task force out.”
On his parts, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who was represented by the Minority Whip of the Senate, Senator Osita Ngwu, assured of the Senate’s commitment to raising awareness and advocacy on the plight of persons with disabilities.
He stressed that the discrimination against persons with disability Prohibition Act of 2018, underscores the necessity for all coordinated activities in education, socio economic empowerment, and civic rights.
Also, the Country Advocacy Coordinator for Sightsavers Nigeria, Esther Bature, said her organisation is committed to a world where no one goes blind due to unavoidable causes and also where persons with disabilities have equal opportunities and rights as people with disabilities.
“We have been partnering with the commission and we hope that together we will implement the SDGs for by and with persons disabilities, she said.
