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By Bashir Bello, KANO

The Kano State Chapter of Joint National Association of Persons With Disability, JONAPwD has appealed to the Kano State government to speed up the passage of the amended Persons with Disability bill into law in the state.

The persons in their large numbers made the appeal while commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, IDPD 2021 in Kano.

Leader of the association and Special Adviser to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Disability, Tasiu Garko said passage of the bill into law will pave way for the establishment of a commission to cater for the person’s needs and take them out of the exclusion circle.

According to him, “as a matter of urgency, we call on the government to prioritize the passage into Law of the proposed Bill amendment 2021 for Persons with Disability with a key focus to establish the commission for PWDs by the end of 2022 assigned in Mutual Accountability Framework with Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, FCDO.

“On the occasion of this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Kano State JONAPwD wish to recognize and commend the State government under the leadership of Governor of Kano State Alhaji Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje for identifying with PwD through recommending for the amendment of the PwD Law 2018, approving the amended bill and transmitting same to the State House of Assembly for passage into Law. This laudable commitment we hope would be followed with the establishment of a commission for PwDs as contained in the amended bill.

“The objective of the Amended PwD Bill is “to protect the rights and dignity of PWDs in Kano; and parties to the bill are required to promote, protect and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by PWDs and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law, which is necessary for inclusive development. Thus, Kano State will key into, global awareness of disability-inclusive development, as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) promotes the full integration of persons with disabilities in societies. This is imperative for the reduction of inequality and inequity based on the principles of social inclusion a human-centered approach to enhance investment in human and social capital development through good health, education, good governance, among others.

“As we PwDs all over the world celebrate this special day, we wish to state as a fact that we face a wide range of Social exclusions from economic, social, political, educational to cultural life. As a result of the above, we are potentially exposed to risks at an increased level of susceptibility.

“As PwDs, we are human as every other person and it is our fundamental human right to be recognized as such. While a combination of attitudinal, societal, environmental, and institutional barriers tends to exclude us from leadership and participation both in the formal and informal sector by neglecting our ability because of our status, our untapped potentials are wasting away and the community is generally at a loss.

“They should recognize the potentials of PwDs and engage them in productive ways for the growth of the State.
We believe in the political will and commitment of the state government to implement these asks. We reaffirm our commitment as JONAPWDs to continue to raise the necessary awareness and also call on the general public to stop stigmatization against PwD,” he said.

Similarly, the Social Protection and Inclusion Manager, Expanding Social Protection for Inclusive Development, ESPID, Gladys Ahuwan also lend her voice to call on the government to speed up the passage of the amended bill into law and also brace up by implementing policies that will improve the lives of the persons in order to take them out of the circle of exclusion which has made them vulnerable, especially that the persons face a lot of challenges and barriers.

However, ESPID is a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded program implemented by Action Against Hunger Nigeria ACF, in Kano and Jigawa, which seeks to contribute to a reduction in multi-dimensional poverty among Nigerian citizens, especially children, and their caregivers.