By Sunny Anderson Osiebe..
The 8th National
Assembly under the leadership of Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola
Saraki, has been commended for passing the 2016 Disability Bill which
was passed for the 4th time by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on June 9 and July 13, 2016
respectively.
This was contained in
a statement issued at a Disability Roundtable, which was supported by
Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), for the purpose of
creating a platform to share the Nigeria
Disability Bill as harmonized by the Centre for Citizens with
Disabilities (CCD) and to get the buy-in of stakeholders.
The event which had
people from all walks of life in attendance, saw participants
articulating and making practicable recommendations for the protection
of the rights of persons with disabilities in Nigeria
and for the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari on the Bill.
Saraki had promised when he was visited by key disability actors led by the CCD that the bill would be passed.
The group in a statement at the end of the roundtable said: "Participants: Appreciates
the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari-led government
on disability issues to the extent of making two appointments (Senior
Special Assistant and Special Assistant) on disability matters, which is
a demonstration of political will of promoting disability inclusion.
"Commended the Senate
President, Sen. Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of House of
Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara as well as the entire member of
the 8th Session of the National Assembly for the
passage of the Nigeria Disability Bill for the 4th time, which is in
line with the promise of the Senate President, Sen. Saraki during the
visit of key disability actors led by the Centre for Citizens with
Disabilities (CCD) to the Senate President.
"Praised the National
Assembly for passing disability bills that can compared to what is
obtainable in developed nations as it made provisions for a Commission
for Persons with Disabilities which is in
line with the Article 33 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities that states that 'States Parties shall, in accordance
with their legal and administrative systems, maintain, strengthen,
designate or establish within the State Party,
a framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as
appropriate, to promote, protect and monitor implementation of the
present Convention.'
The group however
expressed concerns that despite the attention given to the plight of
persons with disabilities in the media, only four (Plateau, Bauchi,
Ekiti and Lagos) States in Nigeria have passed
a law to protect the rights and dignity of citizens with disabilities
in Nigeria.
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