PWDs seek inclusion in projects planning, implementation in N’Delta

People with Disabilities are desirous of being included in projects planning and implementation in Niger Delta in accordance with disability law.

They decry their non-inclusiveness for projects like healthcare access, education programmes, infrastructure improvements, agriculture and more that benefit them, too.

Dorothy Essang, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Akwa Ibom State, said on Tuesday in Uyo that the state government has been working hard to include PWDs in its administration.

She stated that while Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) did not explicitly address disability law, its provisions concerning host communities and development funds could indirectly impact individuals with disabilities in Niger Delta.

“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as we all know established a Host Community Development Trust Fund (HCDTF) that mandates oil companies to deposit a percentage of their working expenditure into this fund for development endeavours within the region.

“While the act itself does not explicitly address disability law, its provisions regarding host communities and development funds could indirectly impact individuals with disabilities in the Niger Delta region.

“The development funds could potentially be used for projects that benefit people with disabilities such as health care access, education programes, infrastructure improvements, and agriculture.

“Hence, it is crucial that persons with disabilities are consulted and included in the planning and implementations of projects in Niger Delta in line with disability law,” she said.

Essang, however, praised the Akwa Ibom State government for including PWDs in its various programmes.

She said, “We can see this in the appointment of Special Assistant (SA) and Personal Assistant (PA) for disabilities matters in the state, empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and recently, the donation of N2 million financial support to a disabled doctoral degree student in Akwa Ibom State University to urgently purchase a knee and food orthosis to aid her mobility and improve her quality of life.”

David O. Anyaele, Founder and Executive Director of Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), decries the failure of government at all levels for excluding PWDs from most of its policies, programmes, and infrastructure.

Asked how he got the idea to establish the centre, Anyaele replied that he learnt the skill to lobby, campaign, and advocacy, adding that the skills spurred him to conceive the idea of forming the centre together with his friends.

“The skill I acquired before gave me the impetus to be able to understand the integrity that has to do with lobby, campaign, and advocacy to get to the floor of the House. We recognise then that there was no law that could protect people with disability; the bulk of the intervention by people in government were all based on charity as well as the administration of people who are in charge; such approach is not sustainable.

“If you must get a sustainable approach to addressing certain the disabilities, there must be a legal framework that guides behaviour, recognising that at the UN the union conventions were not supposed to be established. As such we have seen a kind of model we can look at and demand operationalisation in Nigeria. We saw other countries like Uganda, Kenyan, South Africa, and Ghana that have a lot to protect their citizens from discrimination and harmful practices.

“We must demand, lobby, push for such law to be functional the country “All these efforts stem from my personal experience in which my two hands were cut off in Freetown, Sierra Leone during the Civil War in that country, in which rebels made efforts to seize power. Their failure made them hostile to Nigerians living in that country, and I was captured: my two hands were chopped off,” he said.