The Executive Director of Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), DAVID Anyaele, has urged the Lagos State Government to strengthen the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs, LASODA, to ensure full implementation of the provisions of the law and drive the full protection for the rights of Persons with Disabilities, PWDs in the state.
David Anyaele made this known during the Lagos State Disability Law Summit organized by the CCD, in collaboration with LASODA with support from The Ford Foundation.
The summit, themed “Our Lagos, Our Disability Report 2020 – An Assessment of Compliance to Lagos State Disability Law By Public And Private Institutions” was put together to address some of the challenges of PWDs in the state and also to learn best practices among line Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the State on Lagos Special People’s Law.
While speaking at the summit, Anyaele said: “Beyond the passage of the Lagos State Special People’s Law, the State Government should strengthen the capacity and capability of LASODA, “to ensure monitoring of compliance with the provisions of the law, to ensure full protection for the rights of PWDs in the state.”
Speaking on what would help LASODA to drive necessary impacts, Anyaele said, “the State Governor should, as matter of urgency, make disability funds accessible to LASODA to enhance their operations and smoothen responses to the emergency needs of PWDs especially during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
“A new board should be inaugurated for LASODA to speed up the implementation of the Lagos State Special People’s Law (LSSPL) and other related matters to the Lagos State Legislators”.
He noted that persons with disabilities were widely recognized as vulnerable members of society who suffer discrimination, stigmatization, deprivation, denial of rights, and exclusion among others.
According to him, the objectives of the assessment is to evaluate the extent of compliance with the law by both public and private institutions adding that, “It is also to know the measures by LASODA to address them, to also aggregate proposals by persons with disabilities for improvements in the law and its implementation and enforcement.”
Also speaking, Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima, the Acting Regional Director and a Programme Officer, Ford Foundation Office, West Africa, identified inequality as a cause and consequence of social exclusion which affects PWDs mostly.
Dabesaki said that existing policies on PWD in Lagos should be implemented, adding that more should be done at the national level.
“I want to congratulate CCD for putting this together and I also want to commend Lagos State on their policies on PWDs.
“The state has policies on disability; the state should show a good example by implementing them,” he said.
According to him, Ford Foundation is doing a lot to address the issue of inequality in the country and around the globe.
“In Ford Foundation, we intentionally invest in disability to amplify the voices of PLWDs and integrate disability issues across the world, as a way to highlight integration to disability rights across various issues.
“This is why policy analysis, which needs to be implemented, is also part of what we are into,” he added.
Also, Mr Dare Ogundairo, the General Manager of LASODA, commended CCD for putting the programme together to address challenges faced by PWDs.
Ogundairo called for more collective responses to help enhance the quality of life of PWDs.
LASODA presented an award to David Anyaele for humanitarian and selfless service for the rights of persons with disabilities.
Culled from Real News Magazine