‘It’s discriminatory’ — PWDs threaten to sue Tinubu for non-inclusion in appointments

The Northern Nigeria Disability Forum (NNDF), an association of people with disabilities (PWDs), has threatened to sue President Bola Tinubu for excluding them from his cabinet.

The group said it would take legal action against the president for the non-inclusion of PWDs in his ministerial and some other political appointments.

Yerima Suleiman, the national chairman of NNDF, who spoke at a recent press conference, said the decision to take legal action is to uphold the constitutional rights of PWDs.

Suleiman added that the association would approach the court to invoke the provision of the discrimination against persons with disabilities (Prohibition) Act signed into law in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Suleiman, the law states that five percent of all political appointments should be allocated to PWDs.

“We will approach the court to interpret the law. The 2018 law signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari makes it mandatory that 5 percent of the appointments be allocated to persons with disabilities,” he said.

“So, that is why we felt we don’t have any representative in all the political appointments made so far. So, that is why we planned to approach the court to help us interpret the law made by the former president.

“We are therefore not in support of the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers. Some persons might want to say that but there was a commission created to cater for persons with disabilities.

“That doesn’t affect the 5 percent allocation of political appointments for the persons as contained in the law.”