Group seeks appointment of PWDs as ministers, commissioners

All-rights Foundation Africa, on Wednesday, demanded that qualified Persons with Disabilities be appointed as ministers and commissioners in the incoming federal and state cabinets.

The Chief Executive Officer, TAF Africa, Jake Epelle, made the demand during a presentation of the group’s 2023 general election observation report on disability inclusion on Wednesday in Abuja.

TAF Africa, funded by the European Union through its Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria, noted that though none of the engaged PWD candidates won the polls, their willingness to contest was a strong indication that they were capable of contesting elections in their various states and at the national level.

Epelle lamented that despite the disability inclusion interventions at the national level, the transition committee of the President-elect had no representation of the community of persons with disabilities.

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Epelle said, “With the end of the 2023 general election and the emergence of elected individuals, an opportunity to drive disability inclusion and strengthen the political voices of persons with disabilities in Nigeria’s political process has been birthed.

“These elected individuals have a duty to entrench disability inclusion in their governance by making their political appointments disability-inclusive.

“By being appointed as ministers, commissioners, heads of parastatals, special advisers, etc, persons with disabilities are empowered to take their place alongside other citizens in effecting wide-ranging policies as it affects disability inclusion.

“No policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group affected by that policy, hence the need for disability inclusion in every sphere of governance.”

The CEO added that elected candidates got into power with votes of the PWDs and, therefore, should not be sidelined when giving political appointments.

He noted, “We wish to express our disappointment that despite the disability inclusion interventions at the national level, the transition committee of the president-elect has no representation of the community of persons with disabilities.

“This could have been a unique opportunity to break down social stigmas by ensuring that persons with disabilities appear alongside other citizens as active participants in the transition process of the president-elect.

“As the world beams its torchlight on disability inclusion in electoral processes, we call on the president-elect, governors-elect, and all elected individuals in the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, to take the opportunity of the vast awareness and global interventions available to collaborate and commit to driving disability inclusion in their governance, by appointing persons with disabilities to become political officeholders in their respective states.

“We also want to encourage all elected individuals to prioritise the appointment of persons with disabilities who contested positions during the 2023 general election but could not make it at the polls.”