Violators of disability law will be punished, says Tinubu’s aide on special needs

Mohammed Isa, the senior special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on special needs and equal opportunities, says any public office that fails to comply with the provisions of the national disability law on accessibility of public buildings by people with disabilities (PWDs) will be punished.

Isa spoke in Abuja on Monday at a three-day national disability conference organised by the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) in collaboration with the Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC), supported by the Ford Foundation.

“We are here to review the strategy and progress made post-moratorium so that we can move into implementation proper,” he said.

“Very soon, Mr President will launch the national accessibility committee to make sure that we monitor this mechanism.

“The implementation of the Act is already taking effect. But there’s a need to create more awareness because many people are not aware of the existence of the national disability law, and ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

“We need to partner with the ministry of information to create awareness. Implementation is gradual.

“Accessibility is not something you can achieve overnight. But, with the collaboration with NCPWD, we are doing well in creating awareness and collaboration with the agencies that are responsible for the implementation strategies.

“Very soon, we are going to start with the pilot phase, and any MDA that fails to comply, we are going to seal them.

“It cannot be business as usual. The NCPWD and my office have come up with a robust strategy for the implementation.”