People living with disabilities to reposition association

The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JNAPD) has said it plans to reposition the association for effectiveness. In a statement, the Deputy Chairman of JNAPD, Mrs. Omotunde Ellen-Thompson, said the association would hold a congress to harmonise activities planned for the revival of the group to restore peace among members. Mrs. Ellen-Thompson said […]

The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JNAPD) has said it plans to reposition the association for effectiveness.

In a statement, the Deputy Chairman of JNAPD, Mrs. Omotunde Ellen-Thompson, said the association would hold a congress to harmonise activities planned for the revival of the group to restore peace among members.

Mrs. Ellen-Thompson said the congress would also inaugurate constitutional and electoral committees and conduct presidential election.

She noted that the congress was informed by the settlement of a legal action following an election in the association in 2018 that was alleged to be unfair by which some aggrieved members formed a faction.

She said, “The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the association has, therefore, decided to return to an earlier decision to put in place certain structures to restore peace, transparency and accountability, while also filling up the vacuum that was created since 2018.

“The board will set up a constitutional review committee in the next one week to kick-start the process of reviewing the constitution of the association.

“It will be contracting the service of an external auditor to audit and present a report and hence guide the financial activities of the association at the national level.

“Lastly, it will call for a national congress to rectify and adopt the reviewed constitution, adopt the audit reports and elect or appoint new electoral committee members to conduct a fresh election.”

She added that, “On June 24, the aggrieved members decided to withdraw their cases in the court. That was a wonderful decision that would now ensure the progress of more than 31 million Nigerians with disabilities who were short-changed overtime due to the crisis.” (NAN)