To end the marginalisation and exclusion in the state, people living with disabilities (PWDS) in Ogun State have called on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, implement the national disability law in the state.
They lamented challenges of segregation from society due to their disability as well as struggle to access basic services and opportunities.
Though the Ogun State Disability Law was signed into law by former Governor Ibikunle Amosun in 2017, towards the promotion of the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities, its non-implementation has left the community feeling neglected and excluded.
Speaking during an empowerment programme for PWDs organised by a non-governmental organisation, New Era Initiative for Persons with Disability, in Abeokuta, the president of the group, Adeyinka Adekunle, stated that marginalisation of people with disability is alarming and only the implementation of the law can stop it.
He expressed regret over the unequal treatment of persons with disabilities (PWDs) compared to the rest of society.
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At the event, the group empowered over 100 PWDs with sewing machines, refrigerator, wheelchair and other cash prizes.
Adekunle noted that empowering persons With disabilities (PWDs) is essential to help them withstand the challenges of hardship and hunger in Nigeria.
He said: “We are calling on the federal government to come to our aid. We are being marginalised in society.
“Government should come to our aid and help us realise that we are equal to the rest of the people in the society. There should be no segregation, there should be no marginalisation.
“We want to enjoy all the benefits that other people in the society are enjoying. The federal government has passed the law but the implementation is what is now left.
“I have not seen any state government that has domesticated the law yet. We are pleading for the domestication of the law so that all the content of the bill will come to reality.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
