‘Special citizens’ task Buhari on populist policies

THE Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has called on the President-Elect, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, to demonstrate courage and political will to ensure inclusion, participation, access, and the mainstreaming of issues of critical concern of citizens with disabilities in the programmes and activities of his government.

In a speech delivered by the Executive Director of the centre in Lagos, David O. Anyaele, during a media briefing, he expressed his concern over the delay in signing the Disability Bill by President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to him, such delays have continued to expose citizens with disabilities to institutionalised exclusions as all provisions made by INEC during the recent concluded polls were based on charity and minimally adhered to by the ad-hoc staff managing the polls.

He said that voting units were placed in inaccessible environments; hence INEC officials had little training on disability issues.

He therefore called on the president-elect to remember his campaign promises which included the appointment of an ombudsman on persons with disabilities in six geo-political zones of the country, which will cater for the interest of citizens with disabilities.

This according to Anyaele, would guarantee inclusion, participation, access to electoral process among persons living with disability in Nigeria.

Anyaele explained that the bill provides for prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities; awareness about the plight of PWDs by the Federal Ministry of Information; accessibility of physical structures, roads, sidewalks for PWDs, road transportation vehicle owners to provide facilities for PWDs, seaports and railways to provide facilities for PWDs; airport facilities for PWDs; right to first consideration in queues and in emergencies to be granted to PWDs.