PWDs Advocate More Funding, Inclusive Governance

National president of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), Dr Abdulahi Alihu Usman, has called on the federal and state governments to provide more funds for people with disabilities and involve them in governance in the country.

He stated this yesterday in Abuja, at the one-day consultation forum, organised by the Sightsavers in collaboration with PWDs on the mid-term review of disability inclusion in implementation of sustainable development goals SDGs with the theme: ‘’Leaving No One Behind”.

According to him, “It is important to note that building an inclusive society goes beyond preparing persons with disabilities for the workspace or providing them with skills and get members of the public ready to receive persons with disabilities and begin to see them as an integral part of the society, and that’s part of the goal of this gathering.

“We are appealing to all relevant stakeholders in both public and private to accelerate action on the SDGs and ensure their inclusion for people with disabilities. We all have the equal right to education, employment opportunities and health care, and the right to have a say in the decisions that affect our lives.

“Approximately Nigeria has 30 million people living with disabilities, across the country and are being marginalised on the grounds of gender, poverty, age or other factors, these rights are often denied because of stigma and discrimination.

“You’re talking about financial services in Nigeria, where everybody expects to be accessible when it comes to financial services like you get to the bank, you lodging your money, and make withdrawals at your convenience.

So, some of these services are not accessible for blind persons, as well as public procurements.

“We need government support by giving out contracts and ensuring that the citizens do business to empower them economically. In this process, we discover that there is a gap and your assertion of the blind discover that there is a gap and we approach the organization who funded us to carry out financial services and public procurement inclusion.

“In that project, we’re ensuring that we point to the governments where we are being excluded from some of the services that governments give to her citizens and in line with SDG goals. We came up with this programme and we have been trying to ensure that our voice is heared. We have written a letter to CBN several times, with no response from CBN,” he said.