Tokunbo Abiru, candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) for the senatorial bye-election in Lagos east, says he will promote legislation on inclusion of persons with special needs in governance process mandatory in the country.
During a meeting with some persons living with disabilities, Abiru, a former commissioner for finance in Lagos, promised that if elected, he would work with other lawmakers in the national assembly to champion the empowerment of people with special needs.
At the meeting held in Somolu, Abiru specifically said he would pursue legislation aimed at promoting the well-being and welfare of persons with special needs if elected in the forthcoming poll.
He explained that with the enactment of the 2018 Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, the era of exclusion against persons with special needs “is gradually becoming a thing of the past.”
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“We are at the age of embarking upon well-structured advocacy and systematic lobby to ensure that all provisions of the Act are enforced, observed and accorded with due recognition,” he said.
“This may even require the amendment of the Act to introduce provisions that will make mandatory the inclusion of special persons in our governance process and elective offices. I am committed to legislations that will promote the welfare and well being of every citizen with special needs.”
He, therefore, pledged that he would team up with civil society organisations (CSOs) to ensure that “you are not excluded from accessing privileges and opportunities that other citizens access without let or hindrance”.
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He observed that evidence showed that persons with special needs “are economically disadvantaged and extremely poor not because they are destined to be so, but because there are constrained on the account of their special conditions.”
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