Ezenwa Nwagwu, the Executive Director, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) has harped on the need for updated disability disaggregated data across Nigeria to enhance disability-inclusive electoral processes in the country.
Nwagwu made this known during a one-day for Media, Traditional and Religious Institutions on the Electoral Act ahead of ongoing electoral reforms in the country.
Nwagwu, who acknowledged some provisions made for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) during the 2023 general election, said more can be achieved if the disability community can update their data across the country for INEC to engage with.
Nwagwu said “INEC could claim to have data, may even have data, but it is the responsibility of organizations working in the area of inclusion to provide updated data because of the wide reach and network that they have to be able to provide data of PWDs at various communities.
“INEC may not be able to capture data of all the PWDs community and it is not only for INEC, it is also useful for inclusive budgeting, transportation, aviation.”
While commending the INEC chairman for an inclusive electoral process, Nwagwu expressed that, more and more governments are becoming irresponsible and citizens need to wake up to their own responsibilities to make the government do what is necessary.
He also appealed to journalists to create more awareness about the Electoral Act, the provisions that need to be amended and equip members of the public with the right information.
For his part, Isaiah Amonye, Senior Program Officer, PAACA said, “this project is to enlighten people about the amended electoral Act and electoral reportage and the need for the general public to understand the provisions of the Act and help them to utilize it in making critical decisions before elections, during elections, and after elections.”
He noted that “as CSO, we understand that every stakeholder has a role to play when it comes to electoral law implementation and accountability at the polling unit and outside the polling unit but citizens tend to put all of the blame on INEC, which is why we are trying to enlighten the people to understand their responsibilities.”
He explained that the purpose of the training is to ensure that citizens’ opinions are being entrenched into the current amendment of the Act.
“Amonye urged the media to act as ambassadors that are going to propagate the gospel of the Electoral Act and also advance reforms across the country so that we can begin to see more transparency and accountability in the local government, state and the federal level.”
The training, which has been held in Cross River, Akwa-Ibom, Kano, Jigawa, Enugu, Anambra and Lagos will also hold in other states across the federation and is being organized in partnership with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) with support from MacArthur Foundation.