The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Muhammed Fall has emphasized the need for the effective implementation of the Disability Act to achieve desired set goals.

He also stressed the need for rights-based implementation of the Disability Act to be guided by the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS).

Fall stated this on Thursday in Abuja during the strategic stakeholders meeting convened under the theme: “From paper to practice: Accelerating disability inclusion in Nigeria – Aligning the Disability Act Implementation with CRPD and UNDIS.”

Fall said: “We gather today for a simple but profound purpose: to move from words to action, from paper to practice, from promise to reality. Today, we speak not of laws alone. We speak of people.

“We speak of dignity. We speak of the 35 million Nigerians with disabilities whose dreams are as vast as this nation. A society is measured not by how it treats the strongest, but by how it lifts the most vulnerable.

“When persons with disabilities can learn, work and thrive without barriers, all of Nigeria rises. In Nigeria, we have already taken bold steps. The 2018 Disability Act set the stage. But laws alone do not change lives. Action does.”

He noted that the UN Nigeria conducted nationwide disability inclusion study and that its findings shaped real change around the UN House, ramps, accessible doors, clear signage, saying  the lessons guided its programme across the country.

He said: “We have established a UN Disability Inclusion Working Group, mandated by the UN Country Team, to lead our inclusion efforts. We are embedding inclusion in every programme, every budget and every project.

Through agencies such as ILO, UNICEF and UNDP, we are promoting inclusive employment, education, and access to services. We are also supporting reforms across Nigeria.”

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunity, Mr Mohammed Isa on his part, revealed the Federal Government received various organisations  concern that some states where disability commissions were established delayed implementation.

According to him, there should be multi-faceted approach to ensure inclusivity, particularly the community of persons with disability taking the lead to expedite such policy implementation.

“Government officials have a role to play and we need to keep personal interests aside for us to achieve targets,” Isa said.

The Chairman, House Committee on Disability Matters, Dr Bashir Dawodu, explained the status of the implementation of Disability Act in  Nigeria remain focus of discussion since the discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibition act of 2018 was passed into law.

Dawodu said: @At the federal level, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities was established to coordinate and implement activities aimed at promoting the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities.

“The national commission for persons with disabilities under my watch is working assiduously to ensure the required impact and outcome is realised.”

The meeting featured keynote speeches by Mr Abdullahi Usman, National President, Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) and Mr Ayuba Gufwan, Executive-Secretary, National Commission for Persons With Disabilities. 

Highpoint of the meeting was presentation on status of disability act implementation, interaction centered on barriers and opportunities, as well as adoption of action, point and next steps.

The meeting was aimed at promoting dialogue among government officials, disability advocates, private sector representatives and development partners, to bolster measures for overcoming barriers to disability inclusion in the country.