Advocates for the rights of Persons With Disability (PWD) say full participation of PWDs is a sure path to strengthening democracy at the local levels in Nigeria.
The advocates spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a roundtable on “Disability Inclusive Local Government Election”.
The discussion was organised by The Albino Foundation (TAF) Africa and Disability Rights Fund, with the aim is to foster dialogue and develop actionable strategies to ensure that local government elections are inclusive and accessible to PWDs across Nigeria.
In a keynote presentation, Mr Otive Igbuzor, Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership Strategy and Development, said it was important to ensure that PWDs are fully included in LG elections.
This, he said, was because political participation of PWDs was essential to building a more inclusive representative democracy at the local level.
Otive, however, identified challenges being faced by PWDs in political participation, such as, “physical barriers, accessibility to polling stations and venues for meetings, attitudinal barriers and stereotypes”, among others.
To overcome the challenges and ensure that PWDs are fully included in the local government elections, he suggested that polling stations should be made physically accessible to PWDs with ramps, hand rails and appropriate signage.
Also, he said that election officials should be trained on how to accommodate PWDs during the election process.
The Programme Officer, Nigeria, Disability Rights Fund, Mr Theophilus Odaudu, said “it is very important to make the playing field accessible for PWDs to participate and for voters to elect them.
“It would be good to have PWDs as councillors, local government chairmen, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and different other elected positions.
“We know that the struggle to get there is not easy, but it is possible if we provide needed support and the environment where everyone with a disability is able to participate freely and is able to also canvass for votes.”
Odaudu said that though there were lots of barriers against political participation, “stigma is one that should be fought to a standstill”.
The Founder, TAF Africa, Mr Jake Epelle, said that local governments are the closest form of governance to the people, and that is where inclusivity must begin.
He said that by fostering a system where everyone, regardless of ability, has a voice and a vote, the nation was laying the foundation for a truly representative democracy.
“Through today’s discussions, we aim to address the barriers that PWDs face in exercising their electoral rights and develop strategies that will lead to real and meaningful change.
“Let today be a day of actionable ideas, collaboration, and renewed dedication to ensuring that disability-inclusive elections become a reality, starting at the grassroots level,” he noted.
