By; USMAN NASIDI, Kaduna.
Following the recent approval of the sum of N5 billion palliative for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to address the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on the masses, the National Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities (NAPWPD) has demanded for five pet cent of the palliative for its members.
A statement signed and issued to newsmen on Saturday in Kaduna by National President, NAPWPD Comrade Rilwan Abdullahi Mohammed, explained that the 5% entitlement is predicated on and in tandem with the provisions of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act.
He added that likewise, Section 25 of the Disability Law provides that in situation of risk or humanitarian emergencies, persons with disabilities should be accorded preference and protection. Needless to point that we are in such a time.
He said, “It should be noted that our Association has been extremely disturbed and sorely worried over the suffering of its members because of the subsidy removal policy of the federal government. The impact of the policy has and continue to have debilitating impact on people with disabilities,
whose large demography are poor and vulnerable, a situation that is not of their own making but societally caused.
“The long-lasting inability of people with disabilities to afford decent food, healthcare and basic necessities of life have been compounded and made
worse with the recent situation in the country. Of great concern is the rapid multiplier effect of the policy on the cost of goods and services, thereby making life unbearable for the poor including people with disabilities.
“We must emphasize that our members now find it difficult to access public transport as the transport system is largely inaccessible and not affordable to members of the disabled community.
“While we recognize that the government has to do the needful, however crushing and painful the effect may be, in order that the country might attain future prosperity, we are not happy that consultations towards mitigating the crunch did not carry people with disabilities along neither did the government provide clear template or clarity on how marginalised groups like persons with disabilities will be accommodated in the economic palliatives recently announced by the federal and state governments.
“It is common knowledge that people with disabilities are usually isolated and excluded from the scheme of things; intervention programmes that reaches other members of the society because they stand on equal pedestal to claim their rights is denied and elusive to people with disabilities,” Rilwanu said.
“It is on the basis of the above that the disability law provides for quota, reservations and sharing formulas to people with disabilities who would ordinarily be missing in action should they be lumped up with other members of the society in the grab process of relief programmes. It is in the spirit and the wisdom of the law therefore that we call for 5% allocation of the 5 billion Naira approved for the 36 states and the FCT to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.” NAPWPD National President added.
According to him, they also implore state governments that subsequent interventions involving the transport system should take cognizance of the peculiarity of people with disabilities by providing accessible buses with adjustable ramps and handrails for wheelchair users, signage and electronic display for directions with audio announcements for the benefit of the deaf and the blind, this again is provided in the disability law.
However, Comrade Rilwan Abdullahi Mohammed pointed out that their demands are not just based on charity request, but are congruent with legal stipulations, and at the same time, they also appeal to the goodwill of
government.
