From Okwe Obi, Abuja
An advocacy group, Accountability Lab Nigeria, with support from the MacArthur Foundation, yesterday, mounted pressure on the Federal Government to allot at least, 10 per cent employment slot to persons with special needs, in a bid to give them a sense of inclusiveness.
The group also advised the Government to institutionalise a policy in which all public buildings must make provisions for persons with special needs.
AL Nigeria’s Country Director, Odeh Friday Odeh, who made the appeal during an Open Government Partnership-Inclusion and Diversity Ecosystem Building Meeting in Abuja, said he would visit the National Assembly and relevant agencies to commence the process.
Odeh stressed that people with special needs possess relevant requirements to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.
The event was attended by the representatives of the MacArthur Foundation, Amina Salihu; Director General, Bureau for Public Service Reforms, Dr D.I Arabi (BPSF); OGP National Representative and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD).
The dialogue identified existing buildings that are not accessible for persons with disabilities with the necessary accessibility aids such as ramps, elevator (modified); number of compendium of all existing public buildings that are not accessible persons with disabilities and the necessary remedial work required; and the number of circular written to all government agencies that are not accessible for PLWDs on the need to modify public buildings in line with the Disability Act.
Meanwhile, the Project Officer, BPSR, Ekpe Egbe, who represented the Director General, D.I Arabi, said the agency would continue to lead the reforms in the public sector to ensure that all aspects of the Act are domesticated.
He, however, maintained that “Government alone cannot bring to fruition the dreams of the betterment of the people living with disabilities in Nigeria, it calls for a multi-sectoral approach.”