. Says nobody ‘ll be spared
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government has vowed to enforce the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWD), stressing that nobody or agency would be spared, from January 16, 2024.
The Disability Rights Act was passed by the National Assembly in January 2019, by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons With Disabilities, NCPWD, James David Lalu, disclosed this at a press briefing, yesterday in Abuja.
Lalu said the move was to eradicate discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for every citizen, irrespective of their physical or mental abilities.
He said: “When you look at the provision of the discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibition act, there are a lot in that law.
“The PWDs community carefully sent them to develop that law and it has passed many years of struggle to where we are today.
“Having done that, the commission has been establish and given the full responsibility for the enforcement of the provisions.
“Today they have stated in the low five years was even now in the five years surrounding. We are now transiting from the era of advocacy, to an era of enforcement.
“The era of enforcement is here and by January, the commission is expected to move out in full force to make sure that the provisions of the law are properly enforced.
“The commission will start meeting with its own partners and composed the taskforce immediately before this Christmas.
“Everything will be on ground before the roundup of this year so that as we come in early next year, the taskforce will be inaugurated and immediately after by the time on the 16th of January 2024 that will be the expiration date then by 12 midnight after 17th of January, the Commission and taskforce will move out in full force.”
Lalu added that the assessment will not only be on facilities to ensure easy movement of PWDs, but employment and overall composition of staff will be scrutinized.
He said that after assessment two certificates will be issued to determine sustainable and full compliance.
“The Commission will visit key offices to start their physical assessment of facilities in key office.
“Our assessment may not only end on the physical facilities, but the composition of the staff in these institutions.
“We want to know how many they have regarding persons with disabilities, the total number of staff in these institutions and the maintaince of that 5 % in these institutions.
“So we have to find out all of these so that we’re able to no whether they complied with the law. When you look at the provisions of the regulation, there are two certificates that the commission is empowered to issue. The first certificate is about the accessibility compliance certificate.
“So, we will assess the building and see if it complies with the provisions of the regulation and the provision of the law.
“The compliance certificate will be issued to PWDs and once it is issued, it is expected to be valid for 5 years and after 5 years we will check again to know if these facilities are still working. If after 5 years they are working, we will re-issue.
“Also the disability compliance certificate is looking at the overall compliance of the institution to the provision, so the discrimination against persons with disabilities.
“If you comply with a disability, you will comply with the employment, environment, setting, capacity building, among others.”
Corroborating the move, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, called for synergy among stakeholders to ensure compliance of the Act, stressed the need for domestication of the Act in all states.
“All that is needed now is the cooperation and support of all stakeholders in Nigeria, including persons with disabilities themselves, to ensure that no stone is left unturned, and no one is left behind in the sustainers of strategic advocacy, stakeholders engagement and effective utilization of opportunities to create for them by the policies and programs of federal government a better point to leverage from.
“The full implementation and enforcement of the Disability Act is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians. It’s not what the federal government can do alone. All other levels of government, state, local government and even our communities must become very conscious of this implementation and push for it.
“Also, we want this Act to be domesticated and implemented in all the states. So, we’re challenging all the speakers and the state houses of assembly to quickly swing into action, working with the executive, to domesticate this Act, as well as create a commission that can be a lifeline for those at the grassroots”, she said.