The All Progressives Congress on Saturday saluted more than 25 million people with disabilities for the dignity, achievement and global recognition they have made an impact on the country.
This was contained in a statement by the National PWDs of the Tolu Bankole party in Abuja to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
As Bankol stated, beyond the international day, the ruling party has not disappointed the feats of politicians and athletes with disabilities, among others those who were making waves in the field of information and communication technology, commerce and academics.
The annual day of celebration of PWDs aims to promote understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.
The theme of the 2022 edition, “Transformative Solutions for Inclusive Development – The Role of Innovation in Promoting an Accessible and Equitable World”, has been described as a call to invest in people with disabilities to reduce poverty, boost economic growth and support the Nigerian economy. development
Bankole further disclosed that the APC-led administration of President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retd.) has played a particularly important role in addressing the challenges faced by the PWD community.
He said: “One in eight Nigerians live with at least some form of disability, the most common of these disabilities are visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical impairment, intellectual disability and communication impairment.
“President Buhari has passed the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 and other intervention programs to alleviate the plight of PWDs in Nigeria.
“APC, being a friend of PWDs, has strongly and consistently advocated for their inclusion and betterment of their lives, which subsequently led to free nomination form for all PWD candidates at all levels up to 2022. APC primaries.
“As a leader of PWDs, I personally provided grants and empowerment to women and men in different PWD clusters across the nation to create financial inclusion. Scholarships and bursaries were given to students with disabilities across the country. We also paid for the GCE forms of 3 hundred SSS students to drive home our call for educational inclusion. to take
“We organized and sponsored the first national summit of PWDs at the Nikon Hilton Abuja, where far-reaching resolutions have been forwarded to the appropriate authorities for immediate action.”
The APC presidential campaign council member, however, noted that the Federal Government can still do more for the community.
While referring to the Global Report on Assistive Technology, Bakole said that 2.5 billion people worldwide needed at least one assistive product.
He added that GRATE has predicted that demand could rise to 3.5 billion by 2050.
“The requirement can range from a spectacle to highly advanced myoelectric hands or robotic exoskeletons. However, almost nine out of 10 people who need assistive technology do not have access to it, which often has a detrimental effect on education, livelihoods, health and well-being.
“Government must without delay advocate for innovation that will improve access to assistive technologies for PWDs in Nigeria. We believe that availability and accessibility of smart assistive technologies for PWDs will enable them to participate equally and effectively in society with others and not be hindered,” he stated.
He also called for the appointment of their members as federal level ministers and state commissioners to prevent discrimination, stigmatization and rejection of PWDs in Nigeria.
