Establish disability commission, stakeholders tell Gombe govt

The Gombe government has been urged to establish a commission that will cater to the needs of people living with disabilities (PLWDs) in the state.

Stakeholders who attended a meeting organised by Palladium, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Gombe, have drafted the “Gombe sate persons with disabilities protection bill”.

The bill is expected to be submitted to the state house of assembly for deliberations and passage.

Speaking at the meeting, Grace Jerry, executive director of the inclusive friends association (IFA), said the interactive session was quite crucial for ADAC, communities of PwDs and Gombe state people in general.

Represented by Moses Oluwaseyi, she said there are more than 30 million people in Nigeria who have one form of disability or the other.

She added that Gombe state has over 600,000 people with different types of disability.

She urged the assembly to pass the bill in time and called on the state governor to assent to it afterwards for PLWDs to live meaningful lives.

The session was attended by representatives of the media, civil society organisations, associations of persons living with disabilities, security agencies and government officials.