2023 Polls: Disability commission slams Atiku, Okowa for neglect of PWDs

Mr James Lalu, the Executive Secretary of National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) has knocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its top candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, for not caring for persons with disabilities (PWDs)

Lalu stated this at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Lalu said Abubakar was a vice president under the PDP for eight years, yet he made no impact on the lives of PWDs.

"During the first and second terms of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the PDP, the disability community struggled; even when the bill was passed by the National Assembly, Atiku and the PDP did not sign it into law."

"I can still remember when the disability community went out to protest and called the attention of the then government, and the only result we got was that we were tear-gassed.

"We also want to remind the Governor of Delta, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, that the disability law has not been passed or signed in Delta.

"Also to Aminu Tambulwal, the law was passed in Sokoto State, but he is yet to sign and implement it."

"We want to call the attention of the PDP's presidential candidate for the 2023 election and ask him to focus his energy on calling on the Governor of Adamawa to sign the disability bill into law."

"Many states controlled by PDP are yet to domesticate the disability law. The disability community now knows the people who know the road and favor them," Lalu said.

He also said that states like Plateau, Lagos, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Kogi, Jigawa, and many others controlled by the APC have gone far in their care and laws for PWDs.

The NCPWD boss said the inauguration of the PWD campaign team for PDP was nothing to write home about if PDP in their time failed to sign the bill into law as PDP-controlled states were not ready to care for PWDs.

"We will always appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari. He is the best friend of the disability community and PWDs."

"When he came to power, he was able to listen to the cries of PWDs. In 2014, in Lafia, Buhari, during his campaign, promised to sign the disability bill into law.

"On Jan. 17, 2019, Buhari signed the Discrimination Against PWDs Prohibition Act. He went ahead, and on Aug. 17, he approved my appointment and that of the Governing Board.

"That marks the beginning of the NCPWDs, and here we are. This testifies that Buhari has since commenced the implementation of the Act, something Alhaji Atiku and the PDP could not do," Lalu said.

He said the commission was working in collaboration with tertiary institutions in Sokoto, Zaria, and Lorin to impact the lives of PWDs.

The NCPWD boss also stated that, in no distant time, PWDs would be granted scholarships to study programs of their choice in different tertiary institutions in Nigeria and other countries of the world.

He added that the commission and the Independent National Electoral Commission were in partnership concerning PWDs, voter registration, and voting patterns at polling units.

Lalu also stressed that disability desks had been established in all commands of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, adding that the commission had also put in place strategies to help PWDs in all police stations across the country.

"So, we are doing a lot, but we are not happy when we see politicians making bad comments and trying to condemn the government of Buhari that has done so much for us in Nigeria.

"As far as the disability community is concerned, Buhari is the best president in the history of the country. He has set a standard, and the next government would have to maintain and improve upon it."

"Ordinarily, this should not have attracted our response, but it is very important for us to set the record straight so that every Nigerian would know the truth and Buhari's achievements for PWDs," Lalu said.