…Call for a review of the Child Rights Act
By Christiana Ekpa
Persons with Disability in Nigeria under the easiest of Joint National Association of Persons with Disability on Monday called for the removal of the age long discriminatory practices where such person’s are denied employment in Ministries Departments and Agencies MDAs and sometimes entry into government offices.
The group also canvassed the need for a amendment of the Child Rights Act and other legislations on discrimination against persons with disabilities as a way of ensuring that such practices are reduced to the minimal level in the society.
National President of the Association Abdullahi Aliyu made the call at a media parley organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Disability where the committee engaged with persons with disabilities to chart a road map for the committee’s activities.
He stated that the society discriminates against the persons with disability and other persons with special needs and lamented that the laws makes provision for such persons but they cannot be enforced.
He said that all hands must be on deck from both the legislature and executive to ensure that parents of children with special needs sponsor their education to the highest levels so that they can make contributions to societal development.
Also speaking in like manner, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters, Comrade Mohammed Abba Isa said that enough is enough in the exclusion of persons with disabilities in employment in MDAs of government.
He noted that the Disability Act 2018 specifically provided that 5% of employment in MDAS should be set aside for persons with disabilities and enjoined the relevant agencies to abide by it in their routine recruitment of staff..
He said: ‘the Disability Act specified that 5% of persons with disability should be employed in Ministries Departments and Agencies MDAS.
“We want the President to abide by the provision of this Act and possibly review it to 10%”.
Other speakers at the parley who are mostly women with children that has other health challenges also called on the government to help in the funding of education of such children with special needs.
The House Committee Chairman Hon Bashiru Dauda in his remarks said that Committee would convoke a stakeholders engagement on the issue of persons with disability and pledged to ensure that the engagement is sustained overtime.
He assured that that House Committee would make sure that the there is 5% reservation of slots in employment by the MDAs for persons with disability.
He also stated that the committee would use legislations and amendment of such laws to ensure that no person with disability is denied access to public institutions in their search for opportunities including employment.
