A Disability and Social Inclusion Consultant, Dr Adebukola Adebayo, says people should erase the notion that People With Disabilities (PWDs) are beggars.

Adebayo, the Director General, Human and Organisational Resources Development Centre, Lagos, was the guest speaker at a one-day training workshop on disability inclusion for key actors in the electoral and political processes held in Ado-Ekiti on Friday.

The consultant, who is also a visually impaired person, urged the media to support the PWDs by educating and sensitising the public on the need to embrace them.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by The Albino Foundation, (TAF) with support from the European Union-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) in Ekiti.

He said there was the need to increase understanding of the various thoughts and perception on disability and PWDs.

“Although, INEC and other stakeholders are making reasonable efforts but a lot of grounds are yet to be covered in adapting electoral/voting materials to meet the needs of PWDs.

“INEC should collaborate with tertiary institutions to administer courses on inclusive and accessible electoral process,’’ Adebayo said.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ekiti, Alhaji AbdulGaniy Raji, promised to ensure that disability issues were mainstreamed into electoral matters.

Represented by the Public Relations Officer, Alhaji Taiwo Gbadegesin, the INEC boss, said that time, knowledge, expertise and consultation were necessary, saying that the commission had always carried along the physically challenged persons in their programmes and plans.

In his address, the Ekiti Coordinator and Project Officer of EU-SDGN in Nigeria, Ekiti Chapter, Mr Muyiwa Abegunde, advocated respect and recognition for people with disabilities in Nigeria.

He noted that people with disabilities were being disenfranchised since the advent of democracy in Nigeria; hence, the need for political parties to give them rooms as candidates in leadership roles.

The representative of the National Orientation Agency, (NOA) in Ekiti, Mrs Oluwakemi Akomolede, advised PWDs aspiring for any political post to associate with a political party to enable fulfill their ambition. (NAN)

– Sept. 14, 2018 @ 14:59 GMT |