FCT natives with disabilities allege marginalisation

The Original Inhabitant Persons with Disabilities (OIPWDs) have raised an alarm over what they described as systemic exclusion from the growth and development of the nation’s capital. The group said while Abuja continues to expand through “glass, asphalt, and policy declarations,” indigenous persons with disabilities (PWDs) are being denied economic opportunities, employment, skills acquisition, and […]

The Original Inhabitant Persons with Disabilities (OIPWDs) have raised an alarm over what they described as systemic exclusion from the growth and development of the nation’s capital.

The group said while Abuja continues to expand through “glass, asphalt, and policy declarations,” indigenous persons with disabilities (PWDs) are being denied economic opportunities, employment, skills acquisition, and entrepreneurship support from both the Federal Government and the FCT Administration.

Speaking at a press conference in Gwagwalada on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the OIPWDs, Comrade Mike Maikumo Gideon, lamented that PWDs have also been displaced from their ancestral lands without compensation.

“This is not an oversight. It is the outcome of years of systemic neglect, exclusionary governance, and policy failure,” Gideon said.

He further noted that PWDs are routinely excluded from social inclusion programmes, adding that basic infrastructure—including public buildings, transportation systems, healthcare facilities, schools, and information services—remains largely inaccessible to them.

The group argued that these conditions constitute a breach of both national and international law. “These conditions amount to gross violations of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, and Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights instruments,” the group stated.

Gideon added: “What is happening in the FCT is not inclusive development; it is development that sacrifices justice and human dignity.”

According to the group, urban expansion, land seizures, and forced evictions have stripped many original inhabitants of their livelihoods. 

For those living with disabilities, this injustice is magnified, pushing many into extreme poverty and social exclusion, the group noted.

The group also highlighted what they termed “political hypocrisy,” noting that PWDs from FCT original communities are often mobilized for votes during elections but are abandoned and sidelined once the polls are over.