By Agency Report
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities will impact on the lives of about 31 million Nigerians living with disabilities.
The President of the Equal Rights For Persons with Disabilities International, Inc, a U.S.-based group, Chief Eric Ufom, made this known in a statement on Sunday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had, on Jan. 23, 2019, signed into law the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act.
The Act prohibits all forms of discrimination on ground of disability and imposes fine of N1, 000, 000 for corporate bodies and N100, 000 for individuals or a term of six-month imprisonment for violation concurrently.
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities is also established in Section 31 with Executive Secretary as the head.
He noted that “the work before the commission was huge because it predated 1914 Nigeria’s amalgamation and 1960 Nigeria’s independence, when millions of Nigerians with disabilities were completely discriminated against, marginalised, excluded from national annual budgets, programmes and services.”
He also said that the establishment of the agency would help to address the problems of insecurity in the country.He commended President Buhari for signing the bill into law.
“On Jan. 23, 2019, President Buhari, made huge historic legacy for himself, his family, Nigerian-Americans with disabilities and others in the Diaspora, our 31 million Nigerians with disabilities based in Nigeria, 15 million almajiri and street beggars, who were victims of childhood traumas, 15 million almajiris and street beggars, who were victims of childhood traumas, millions of internally displaced persons and retired older Nigerians.
“President Buhari ended our 20 years long journey faced by a lot of permanent man-made barriers placed on our rough ways to successfully advocate and negotiate with the Nigerian government to enact, vote and pass into law, a Nigerian with Disabilities Rights Bill with a commission.
“And we congratulate those selected as members of the governing council for the commission,” Ufom said.
