FG to shut down organizations that violate accessibility laws for people with disabilities

The Federal Government has declared that as of January 17, public facilities that do not meet the minimal requirements for accessibility for people with disabilities (PWDs) would be closed.

While briefing reporters in Abuja on Thursday, Dr. James Lalu, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), revealed.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the press conference was held in observance of the 16th International Day of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in 2023 as part of the activism.

The five-year deadline that the federal government issued to organizations is scheduled to expire on January 16, 2024, and Lalu stated that the commission will move swiftly thereafter.

According to the commission’s formation regulations, this commission was given complete authority to enforce its laws when it was founded.

We are now moving from the era of advocacy to enforcement. Organizations were given five years to comply with accessibility requirements, and those five years are set to expire on January 16 of next year.

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He declared, “By January, we would deploy all of our resources to ensure that the law’s provisions are appropriately implemented.”

He said that in order to guarantee the accessibility law’s implementation, the commission would enlist the help of all pertinent parties to form a special taskforce.

“We will begin convening with our partners to form a taskforce well in advance of Christmas, with the goal of having everything operational by year’s end.”

“So that as we approach the beginning of the following year, the taskforce will get right to work, and by January 17 at 12 a.m., the accessibility laws will be enforced.”

He declared, “The taskforce of the commission will depart in full force and will begin visiting key offices for physical assessments of the facilities in the key offices.”

The NCPWD Chief also stated that the commission would guarantee that organizations adhere to the five percent job chances for people with disabilities as well as their accessibility regulations.

“The staff makeup in these institutions may be just as important to us as the actual facilities when it comes to our evaluation.

“We need to know how many of them are people with disabilities, how many staffing decisions there have been overall, and how long the five people have been maintained in these institutions. We need to find out all of this, so they will know whether or not they follow the law,” he stated.

The commission was fully supported by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in putting their accessibility laws into effect, according to Dr. Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

Edu gave the Executive Secretary her word that she would assist efforts to enforce accessibility legislation.

She says that all Nigerians have a shared duty for the efficient application and upholding of the applicable disability legislation.

In order to support the commission in its efforts to safeguard the rights and privileges of its members, she reassured all parties involved that they would do so.