The Oyo State Government has increased the 2025 capital budgetary allocation for Persons with Disabilities by over 70 per cent of what they received in 2024.
Governor Seyi Makinde disclosed this in Ibadan on Monday during the celebration of the 2024 stakeholders’ summit and international day of persons with disabilities.
Makinde, represented by his deputy, Bayo Lawal spoke on how the government had fared with the welfare of the disability community in his over four-year administration.
He noted that all the requests of the persons with disabilities for the next year’s budget plans as submitted during the last budget town hall meetings formed the increase of their capital budget to N877,500,000.
The governor added that their capital budget was initially N492,000,000, while the Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities’ overhead cost had increased from N315,000,000 to N345,000,000.
“It is believed that both will take care of their requests which include transportation empowerment, training of relevant agency with what their roles would be for the persons with disabilities, training of enforcement agencies for compliance, purchase of assistive devices, mobility equipments among others”, he said.
Makinde added that Oyo State had recruited 510 persons with disabilities into the state civil service.
He added, “I have also given directive that henceforth, in every ministry, the quota of the persons with disabilities must be protected.”
Makinde recalled that, as soon as he assumed office on May 29, 2023, he appointed Barrister Ayodele Adekanmbi as the pioneer Director-General of the Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
Makinde said he equally appointed Mr. Timothy Olufemi as the Executive Assistant to the governor on Disability Matters to ensure that PWDs were carried along in governance.
“And when God granted me the grace of a second term, I reappointed Barrister Adekanmbi again but this time as the pioneer director-general, Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities and I gave him the mandate to draw a budget line for the agency, to find a suitable and conducive office environment to use, and to see to the redeployment of staff to kick-start the agency for persons with Disabilities.
“I am glad to inform you that all these have been done within 1 year and 6 months of Omituntun 2.0.
“Presently as we speak, disability cluster groups’ grants and subvention have been approved, and in no distant time, three operational vehicles will be delivered for the smooth running of the agency for persons with disabilities.”
“It is on the record that I am the first governor to politically empower persons with disabilities by appointing them as supervisory councilors and SAs across the entire local governments of Oyo State, which was what made us stand out as an all inclusive government all over the country”, the governor said.
Speaking earlier, Adekanmbi said the administration of Governor Makinde was truly committed to providing opportunities for People Living with Disabilities (PwDs).
“The agency has continued to receive all the necessary support from the administration to ensure that PwDs are carried along.
“Since the coming of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration, there are some deliberate initiatives the governor has put in place to improve access to governance and quality of service to persons with disabilities,” he said.
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