The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has called for the inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the advisory board of host communities’ trust funds under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in the Niger Delta.
The executive director of the CCD, a non-governmental organisation, Mr. David Anyaele, made the call at the end of a three-day workshop organised by the group in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Saturday.
The workshop, themed “Ending Barriers Against Niger Deltans with Disabilities,” was aimed at sensitising persons with disabilities (PWDs) on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and developing a demand charter for their inclusion in the PIA benefit structures in Rivers State.
Anyaele expressed concern over the continued exclusion of PWDs from benefitting interventions in Rivers and the wider Niger Delta region, decrying the lack of consideration given to their needs and rights.
He faulted several provisions of the PIA which expressly neglected persons with disabilities while it made provisions for women, youths and others.
The executive director emphasised that PWDs must be considered while carrying out needs assessment by host communities for the implementation of the PIA.
“People with disabilities are not included in oil benefits interventions in the Niger Delta region; when interventions are made, they are forgotten.
‘’Sometimes, they are remembered on charity when they protest and the charity is not sustainable.
“We feel it’s important that we use the instrument to promote and encourage host communities to respond to the provisions of the PIA in a manner that does not leave out persons with disabilities.
Anyaele said that PIA also provided for hosts community trusts, management, advisory and assessment of the needs with particular mention of women and youths issues.
He said that although the Act was silent on PWDs, they still wanted to intervene since when oil spillage or oil-related damages occurred, it would not discriminate or spared the PWDs.
Anyaele advocated for the creation of a disability commission in Rivers, as applicable in the nation and some states, to serve as a mechanism to support the government in coordinating its response to the PWDs.
He, however, urged the PWD community in Rivers to deepen their understanding of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to better take advantage of its accessible benefits.
Also speaking, Ndifreke Andrew-Essien, executive director of FAECARE Foundation, called for an amendment to the PIA to specifically include Persons with Disabilities, noting that the current 2021 Act fails to do so.
Andrew-Essien emphasized that this amendment is necessary to eliminate any ambiguity in implementation. According to her, the PIA provides funding for community structures and projects.
“We are advocating that the PIA, through needs assessments, should stipulate that all community projects funded under the Act must be designed to be accessible to all community members, including PWDs,” Andrew-Essien added.
She also appealed to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to ensure that their regulatory reforms are inclusive of PWDs.
Andrew-Essien observed that the 2012 Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Prohibition Act, currently operational in the state, has become obsolete, describing it as a welfare-based rather than a rights-based law.
She supported calls for the establishment of a PWD commission, expressing hope that such a commission would receive speedy legislative backing once the state’s political situation stabilizes.
Similarly, Mr. Nwosu Justice, former Rivers Secretary of the Joint Association of Persons With Disabilities, lamented the abysmally poor response of the Rivers government over the years to issues concerning PWDs.
Justice used the opportunity to call on the Rivers government to domesticate the 2018 National Disability Law.
