Kelvin Bowoto
The disability community in Kogi State has provided the state government with a charter of demands for inclusive budgeting and full involvement of people with disabilities (PWDs) in governance. The presentation was delivered at the Kogi State Office for Disability Affairs (KOSODA) by a group representing the Kogi State chapter of the National Association of Persons with Physical Disability (NAPWPD) and the national secretariat.
“We, the people with disabilities, assembled in Lokoja from January 15th to January 16th, 2024, present this Charter of Demands on the rights of persons with disabilities to inclusive budgeting and development, developed through a consultative process involving representatives of all clusters and associations of persons with disabilities from across the 21 local government areas of the state. “All demands presented were endorsed by all members of the disability community and the Kogi State Office for Disability Affairs,” he said.
Barrister Yusuf Iyondo, a PWDs rights activist, said the community in the state demands amendments to the state public finance management law, state procurement act, full implementation of the provisions of the Kogi State Disability Law, and inclusion of disability equity issues in the state 32-year development plan to bring about effective disability inclusion policies in the state in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
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On education, the organization encouraged the state government to establish Education Assessment and Resource Services (EARS) to cater to the idiosyncrasies of learners with disabilities, while also urging an immediate budgetary commitment of at least 2.5 percent of GDP towards disability inclusion efforts in the state.
According to the statement, the group used the principle of “non-retrogression” to articulate disability needs to avoid “disproportionate and arbitrary cuts in budgetary allocations to disability-specific projects in the state.”
The state chairman of NAPWPD, Comrade Hassan Sule Destiny, appealed to the Kogi State government to ensure that persons with disabilities benefit maximally from resource allocation and unhindered participation in Kogi State growth and development. Hassan Destiny calls on the Kogi State government to increase its disability responsiveness by including disability inclusion in the annual performance agreements of accounting officers and CAOs in line with the group’s demands.
The lead facilitator of the training session on CRPD-compliant budgeting and advocacy, Mr. Josiah Achimugu, is a development consultant for NAPWPD. While Comrade Ridwanu Abdulllahi, the national president of NAPWPD, urged the state’s PWD stakeholders to continually engage government officials for policy dialogue on disability inclusion in the state, Comrade Bisong Ignatius, the association’s national secretary, urged PWDs to maintain the momentum of the struggle for disability inclusion. Additionally, the Kogi State government was urged to complete the inclusive education policy and implement a time-bound plan for the transition of all students with disabilities from “special” to “inclusive” education.
Techrectory with Agency Report.
