The Lagos State Chapter of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Collaboration with BONews Service has publicly presented the Charter of Demands for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Lagos State, with the aim of ensuring that political candidates in the 2023 General Elections mainstream disability-inclusion into their plans and programmes.
The Charter of Demands which is a compilation of the needs of PWDs in Lagos State was collected through a rapid response survey conducted by JONAPWD Lagos and BONews Service.
The Charter of Demands cuts across key sectors like Education, Health, Employment, Economic Empowerment and Social Protection, Transportation, and Public Infrastructure. It also placed certain demands on the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) to review and put modalities in place to ensure full implementation of the Lagos State Special People’s Law after over 11 years of its existence.
While speaking at the public presentation and media parley, Dr. Adebukola Adebayo, the Chairman of JONAPWD Lagos said it is essential that LASODA’s Governing Board is constituted to provide necessary leadership and support to the agency.
Adebayo stressed that there should be “prompt constitution of the LASODA Governing Board with all disability clusters represented in order to give direction and inclusiveness in the management of the Agency.
“PWDs and their legitimate organizations (especially those with proven expertise and experience in disability and inclusive development) be constantly consulted and carried along in the design, planning, implementation and monitoring of disability inclusion in all policies, programs and projects of government at state and local levels.”
While presenting the key findings of the survey, Ms. Blessing Oladunjoye, the Publisher of BONews Service shared that PWDs in Lagos decried the various forms of discrimination that they experience in the state, ranging from inadequate access to quality and affordable healthcare and inclusive quality education for children with disabilities.
Oladunjoye thereafter appealed to the Lagos State Government, to as a matter of importance, mainstream disability inclusion in its various interventions, with the aim of ameliorating the plights of PWDs in the state.
On her part, Mrs. Bisi Bamishe, the National President of the Albinism Association of Nigeria (AAN) also noted that it is high time the government began to support the disability community in the state.
Present at the launch were PWDs across different clusters. The Charter of Demands can be accessed via this link. The Charter of Demands will be used to engage all relevant stakeholders contesting for positions at the State, House of Assembly and Local levels in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
