There is hope for the protection of disability rights and inclusion in South West states as members of States Houses of Assembly in the region commit to the enactment of disability laws and inclusive budget processes.
This was made evident during the meeting between Civil Society Organizations and Members of the States Houses of Assembly in the South West to promote inclusive and participatory budget monitoring and oversight among stakeholders in South West which was facilitated by the South West Legislative Reform Implementation Committee, SLRIC and supported by Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn, PERL.
The communiqué which was issued at the end of the meeting affirmed the SHoAs interest to “pass the disability law and mainstream disability inclusion into all capital project designs.”
Speaking on behalf of the SLRIC, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly said the other states in the region that are yet to pass the disability law would do so for the purpose of driving inclusion.
Dr. Adebukola Adebayo, disability inclusion consultant had earlier proposed the passage of disability laws across South West States before it was adopted by the legislators.
He said, “it is imperative for all states in South West to have disability law and implement them as a way to achieve inclusive and participatory budget process across all sectors.
“The 2020 budget across South West must be disability sensitive in respect to infrastructural provisions because it is cheaper to meet up with disability standards at the design and planning stage of projects than to mainstream disability during or after implementation”, he added.