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Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Osun State have appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give them priority by allowing them to vote first during the August 15 governorship election.
Speaking in Osogbo during the Able2Vote community outreach for PWDs organised by The Albino Foundation Africa (TAFAfrica), Stephen Idowu, Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) in Osun State, urged members not to sell their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The Assistant Programme Manager of TAFAfrica, George Dominic Anwayi, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to treat PWDs with dignity.
Anwayi said PWDs are citizens and should be included in the electoral process, warning that excluding them would leave out a significant segment of Nigeria’s population.
He said the organisation has been engaging INEC to ensure the electoral process is inclusive and that the current outreach is aimed at grassroots sensitisation, especially in hard-to-reach communities, so that PWDs understand their rights, the need to participate, and the provisions INEC has made to support their voting, including being prioritised during elections and not having to join queues.
He said, “We believe that Persons with Disabilities are equally citizens like every other person, and our democracy recognizes Persons with Disabilities because they are also human beings, they are also citizens.
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“If you leave that population, which is over 30 million Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria, you run the risk of excluding a very large number of persons, and so we believe that the participation of Persons with Disabilities in the electoral process is very key,” Anwayi added.
Idowu commended TAFAfrica for the voter education campaign. He appealed to INEC to provide the necessary voting tools for PWDs and to ensure priority on election day so they could vote first and return home early.
Idowu also urged PWDs to come out in large numbers to vote “for the leader of their choice.”
“I want to appeal to all my members in Osun State to go out en masse to choose the leader of our choice.
“I also want to appeal to the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that they provide the necessary tools which will make voting convenient for Persons with Disabilities.
“INEC should also ensure priority for our members on election day. Persons with Disabilities should be given the chance to vote first and go back home on time,” Idowu said.
