Centre for Infrastructural and Technological Advancement for the Blind, CITAB has accused the Lagos State Governor, Babjide Sanwo Olu of failing to achieve any of his campaign promises for persons living with disability during his first 100 days in office.
According to a press release issued by the Executive Director of CITAB, Jolomi Fenemigho, the group said Sanwo Olu has failed to pay adequate attention to the disability community since he was sworn into office.
Fenemigho expressed his non-satisfaction over the “Governor’s failure to achieve any of his campaign promises for the disabled community despite chanting the mantra of inclusivity when he needed votes of the community to win the gubernatorial election last March.
According to him: “Judging from the governors 100 days record, nothing has been done or said with regard to the plight of disabled persons within Lagos state which we consider unsavory because it does not reflect commitment to his developmental agenda that was part of his 2019 electoral campaign manifesto. We recall that part of that manifesto indicated Sanwo-Olu’s agenda to include ‘…Expanding programmes for vulnerable groups like the elderly and people living with disabilities’.
The CITAB chairman lamented over the high level of unemployment among the disabled community, adding that there were many disabled graduates roaming the streets of Lagos in search of jobs while little or nothing had been done by the new administration to alleviate their suffering.
The CITAB boss further stated that: “Recruitment into the State Government’s ministries and parastatals ought to take yearly. The last recruitment by the Lagos State Civil Service Commission from the disabled community in the state took place in 2017 under the immediate past administration but Governor Sanwo-Olu has remained mute with regard to employment for the disabled since he assumed office 100 days ago.”
According to him, “the previous administration introduced various developmental programmes for persons living with disability which they massively embraced and benefited from. It was expected that Sanwo Olu would walk in the steps of his predecessor since he claimed he would run an all-inclusive government on assumption of office.”
Regarding the education sector, Fenemigho said much attention needed to be paid to students with special needs in Lagos adding that there should be provision for accessible learning environment with special learning devices such as audio books, talking calculators, braille machines, voice amplification devices, captioning video monitors and other assistive aids which would boost their academic performance.
He further stated that: “In order to actualize Governor Sanwo Olu’s developmental agenda for disabled residents in Lagos, his administration needs to promote use of technology so that they can live self-reliant lives”.
He appealed to the State Government to establish accessible computer training centres equipped with the necessary gadgets for persons with disability across all the 57 local councils.