I take this opportunity to congratulate His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the 36 state governors, the National Assembly and all Nigerians on the 62nd anniversary of the birth of Nigeria.
As a community of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, we will continue to remain very grateful to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for the wonderful effort and commitment of this government in promoting quality of life for persons with disabilities. We also appreciate the president for the signing of the discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibition act.
We will continue to be grateful to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for the establishment of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities of which by the grace of God, I am standing here as the Executive Secretary of the Institution.
We have not arrived where we want to be but we’re no longer where we used to be. There is a great transformation in the disability community in Nigeria. We are moving forward.
Inclusion of persons with disabilities in the National Social Development Programme have seennthousands of persons with disabilities benefiting from one programme or the other as above 10% of the National Social Development Programme has been approved by the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
The commission is working in the area of accessibility which we have touched Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and as well as University of Ilorin for the promotion of education for the blind.
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities has partnered with the Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Civil Defence and other justice actors to ensure the protection of the right and dignity of persons with disabilities.
As a social justice committee who is working all by the hand to ensure that we protect the rights of persons with disabilities, we have an online application, a WhatsApp number and other means of communication where cases of marginalization, discrimination can be channelled through to National Commission for Persons with Disabilities. We are dealing with thousands of cases across the country some of which we have made personal intervention as an institution to make sure that our arrival made sure that they’ll deal with these issues. The Commission will not hesitate to take any issue to short cut where these issues have been neglected.
As an institution, we shall continue to remain committed to improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities.
We must continue to appreciate the maximum support of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari as he continues to provide the necessary pillar of support to the institution, the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, who we always consider as liberator-general for persons with disabilities in Nigeria. We appreciate her for her maximum support.
All other ministers, all other heads of MDAs who continue to provide maximum support to the Commission to ensure achievement of our mandate. We also recognise the efforts of our development partners who continue to stand with the Commission.
We are growing, we hope to grow bigger to reach out to all disability communities in all of the 774 Local Governments in Nigeria.
Thank you.
James David Lalu, npom
Executive Secretary
National Commission For Persons with Disabilities