Subsidy removal: Lalu alleges PWD exclusion from palliative distribution

The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) says its members have been excluded from the palliatives provided by the federal government to cushion the impact of petrol subsidy removal.

James Lalu, executive secretary of the commission, made the allegation during a media briefing in Abuja.

In August, the federal government announced a N5 billion palliative for each state of the federation, including the federal capital territory (FCT), to ameliorate the hardship caused by the subsidy removal.

Lalu said PWDs constitute 15 percent of the Nigerian population, adding that they are the most vulnerable group in the country.

“The reports we are getting from all the 36 states of the federation with respect to the distribution of palliatives is that persons with disabilities in communities were not taken into consideration,” he said.

“So, we are going to collate all the data of PWDs across the states to present to the chairman of the National Economic Council who is Vice-President Kashim Shettima.”

He stated that there are about 35.5 million PWDs in the 774 LGAs in Nigeria.

“The disability community deserves all the necessary attention from the authorities to ensure that whatever government is doing, they will be carried along,” he said.

He added that Betta Edu, minister of humanitarian affairs, had assured NCPWD that its members would be included in the national conditional cash transfer scheme.

He said they were also told that the commission would be included in the initiatives of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP).

Lalu said the commission has partnered with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to train some PWDs on various skills and that members of the disability community were given soft loans to set up businesses.