Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has reechoed the call for the inclusion of Persons With Disabilities (PWD) in political processes and governace by political parties.
The Country Director of WFD, Mr Adebowale Olorunmola reiterated the call on Tuesday at the opening of stakeholders dialogue on Nigeria Open Political Party (NOPP) project in Abuja.
WFD is the UK public body dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world for the over 30 years.
Olorunmola said that Nigeria has annually been rated very low in terms of inclusion of PWD and other vulnerable groups in politics and governace saying that there is a need for a change.
The country director said that the articipation of PWD in politics and governace is a human rights issue.
“We cannot be talking about about democracy if we do not have every citizen, l regardless of your position in society, being able to participate in the process, and political party remain very vital to the process.
“This is because political parties are the only platform through which citizens can contest for elected position and every electoral cycle, we have seen that underrepresented groups youth, women, and particularly seriously, persons with disabilities are excluded in the process.
“So that is the reason why we are implementing the NOPP to look at how we can open up these political parties, how we can make them even more internally democratic.
“What are the strategies that, working with you, we can put in place to mainstream PWD, from the people that elect the candidate to every aspect of political parties, so that is what this project is all about,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of the National Human Right(NHR) Chief Anthony Ojuku said that the commission has the mandate to protect human rights.
Represented by Mrs Yemisi Akhile, Njoku said that the commission has succeeded over the years in advocating and protecting the rights and ensuring inclusion of PWD.
“PWD and other persons in need of particular needs are the front corner of the activities of the National Human Rights Commission.
“To prove this commission established the vulnerable group department to address complaints, develop programs and formulate policies for the speedy promotion and protection of the rights of vulnerable group which includes persons with disability.
“The commission conducts monitoring exercise in all polling units across the states during general elections and also of cycle elections and have to the cause to, over the years developed checklists to ascertain the disability compliance of polling units and the entire electoral process,” he said.
In her remarks, Amb. Beatrice Mube, the Women Leader of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disability (JONAPWD) called for the full compliance with the Disability Act.
She said the grace period given by the Act is almost over and many managers of public building are yet to comply with sections of the Act that speaks to accessibility for PWD.
Mube said that the Act and United Nations Conventions insist that politic parties must be accessible to PWD.
“Our political structure should be inclusive in the sense that, political parties do their meetings upstairs, at a height that is not assessable.
“You go to meetings, you do not see sign language interpreters, the meetings are just not inclusive, most political parties are not inclusive,” she said.
The women leader observed that the Disability Act does not have any provision to protect women with disability, saying that there is a need for a review to include women with disability