KADUNA STATE PERSONS WITH DISABILITY RIGHTS BILL:"WE WANT A COMMISSION".

PRESS RELEASE!

Kaduna State Persons With Disability Rights Bill:”We Want A Commission”.

This “PRESS RELEASE” is basically organized to draw the attention of His Excellency, Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai of Kaduna State to his promises to the Disability Community before and after the Governorship election in the State.

First and foremost, the leadership of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) Kaduna State, on behalf of other sister associations and by extension, the entire disability community, wish to specifically thank the Governor for continuing to be an exemplary true champion and #CHANGE AGENT# who always raises the development Bars very high for others to emulate and that is what we want him to continue doing.

JONAPWD sincerely thank His Excellency for truly introducing “Disability-Inclusive Development” in Kaduna State within his administration and for his continued respect and recognition that Persons with Disabilities have the right to be included into discussing and making decision on issues of concern to the Kaduna State Persons with Disabilities thereby fine-tuning the saying “Nothing About Us, Without Us”. A good example of such gesture was the call for a “Memo” from JONAPWD by His Excellency through the Kaduna State Legislature on 21st December 2015 on “A Bill For A Law To Prohibit Street Begging And Hawking In Kaduna State 2015”, and the appointment of one of our own as Special Assistant (SA) on Disability Affairs to his office, Aliyu Mohammed Salisu, a Blind comrade.
At this very juncture, we wish to humbly remind His Excellency, Mal. Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, The Executive Governor of Kaduna State as follows:

On Saturday, 29th December 2014 at Arewa House Kaduna you made history and became the first governorship Aspirant in Kaduna State under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) to host over three thousands of our members living with disabilities across the 23 local government areas. Our turning out en-mass to meet with you at that historic gathering was because we all believed in the power of “CHANGE” which your party campaign slogan stood for and the gesture you extended to us plus the fact that as a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja you had an incomparable track records of performance and a disability-friendly leader who should be supported to continue with the good works. At that historic event, you promised to, among other things, ensure the passage of the “Kaduna State Persons With Disability Rights Bill” into Law better known in the draft document as “A Bill To Ensure Full Inclusion Of Persons With Disabilities In Kaduna State Into The Society And To Establish A Commission For Persons With Disabilities And Vest It With The Responsibilities For Their Education, Healthcare And The Protection Of Their Social, Economic, Civil And Political Rights”.

Also on Tuesday, 14th July 2015 at Government House Kaduna during an interactive meeting with the leadership of JONAPWD and other stakeholders where the issue of Disability Rights Bill was tabled before you among other matters, you gave us the assurance that the bill was part of your administration’s priorities.

At a Town hall meeting with stakeholders and representatives of different organizations and community leaders held at ASAA Pyramid Hotel Kaduna in November 2015 last year in which JONAPWD was a participant, Your Excellency again boosted our hope when you told the congregation in your remarks that your administration will do the needful to protect the interests of people living with disabilities in the state vis-à-vis our State Disability Rights Bill.

It is equally important to re-iterate that 3rd December of every year was set aside  by the United Nations to be observed Internationally as a Day of People Living with Disabilities in order to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues relating to their inclusion and development. We had on 3rd December 2015 passionately reminded His Excellency through Her Excellency, The Wife of the Executive Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai on the need to expedite action on the signing and passage of our bill with an essential “Commission” in partial fulfillment of the year’s celebration theme which focused “Inclusion Matters”. We were again assured.

If Plateau, Ekiti and Lagos States can have a “Commission” to better the lives of People with Disabilities in their states why not Kaduna State which is the heart of the North? As the capital of the 19 Northern States in Nigeria other Northern States look up to Kaduna State leadership. In that, whatever good or negative thing Kaduna State start all the other 18 Northern States including Abuja where the national disability rights bill before the National Assembly is pending passage with an essential commission, will copy. We therefore stand on a “Commission” in line with Article 4 of the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities which stipulates that “States Parties should adopt all appropriate legislative, administrative, modifying or abolishing existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitutes discrimination against persons with disabilities including the protection and promotion of their human rights in all policies and programmes”, among others.

Finally, as law-abiding citizens who believe in “CHANGE” and the fight against corruption which the present regime is keeping eagle eye on, we ask that His Excellency should expedite action on the signing and passage of the bill without further delay while not hesitating to expose any individual or group who may negatively want to capitalize on the bill. Our bill with an essential   implementation commission we stand and the only way to go.

SIGNED:
Julius Shemang, Chairman JONAPWD Kaduna State.