‘We need annual disability summit’
People living with disabilities in Lagos State have urged the state government to institute and convene an annual Lagos State Disability Summit, with participation from public and private sectors. This appeal is contained in a statement jointly signed by the Lagos State Chairman of the Joint National Association of People Living with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Dr […]
People living with disabilities in Lagos State have urged the state government to institute and convene an annual Lagos State Disability Summit, with participation from public and private sectors.
This appeal is contained in a statement jointly signed by the Lagos State Chairman of the Joint National Association of People Living with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Dr Adebukola Adebayo, and the Public Relations Officer, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, in the wake of the celebration of the World Disability Day last Tuesday.
The summit, the association noted, would set a new disability and inclusive development agenda for Lagos State, in line with the Special People’s law.
JONAPWD executives pleaded with the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to mandate all local government areas (LGAs) and local council development areas (LCDAs) to appoint a competent person with disability (PWD) as a member of their respective executive councils.
This, they insisted, would help PWDs to gain active participation in leadership at grassroots levels and provide an opportunity for them to participate in the leadership and democratic development process.
Adebayo said the office of the Head of Service should be mandated to develop guidelines for an inclusive and accessible workplace policy for the Lagos State public service to ensure optimum performance of disabled civil servants.
He further stressed the need for the government to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) “to drive both the disability-focused and the multi-sectoral interventions of disability inclusion and access in the state.”