The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has called for the full implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2019.
The Speaker said the full implementation of the law could address issues of discrimination, empowerment and equal opportunity for Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWSs) in Nigeria.
Gbajabiamila, who was represented by the Chairman of the newly-created House Committee on Disabilities, Miriam Onuoha, spoke on Friday during the celebration of the 2020 World Disability Day hosted by the Office of the Speaker.
The event was also attended by a virtual audience that included Barrister Bolarinwa, Senior Counsel, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Dr. Ifeanyi Chikunie and others.
Gbajabiamila noted that though it’s often what happened, disability of any kind should not take away from the dignity of the individual or take away the right to dream big dreams or hinder the achievement of grand ambitions.
“This is because we have designed our societies, our governments and our systems of policy making and implementation without considering the rights, hopes and prayers of our less-abled brethren”, Gbajabiamila noted.
The Speaker, while expressing sadness over the inability of the government to meet the objectives of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act that became law in 2019, said it had become imperative for all stakeholders to ensure that the letters of the law were implemented without delay.
In his presentation, Barrister Bolarinwa said the issue of inclusion was germane to the PLWDs, noting that the Act would address the challenge of discrimination against them
He, however, emphasized that to address the discrimination issue, public and private sectors should not design special programmes and policies for PLWDs.
He suggested that issues of concern to these special people should be mainstreamed into the general programmes for everyone.
On his part, Dr. Chikunie said the coronavirus pandemic had dealt a big blow to the PLWDs and as such, they should be integrated into the society, empowered, and their skills developed for economic and self-reliance.
The highpoints of the celebration was the presentation of scholarships to six students from Government Secondary Schools, Sherati and Gosa as well as the LEA Primary Schools, Karamanjiji and Kuchigoro by the Chief of Staff to the Speaker, Hon. Sanusi Rikiji.
Six PLWDs, an amputee and another with needs for calliper, among others, were also gifted with special sponsorship for their needs.
