Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), an NGO, has lauded Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi and members of the 6th State House of Assembly for the passage and signing of the Disability Bill into law.
Mr David Anyaele, Executive Director of CCD, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, said the law showed the efforts and commitment of the state government to ensure that no one was marginalised by reason of disability.
According to him, signing of the disability bill into law by the state government has placed the state in the “Royal Hall” of disability friendly states in Nigeria.
“We join all Persons With Disability (PWDs) in Kogi as a whole to commend the governor and the 6th state house of assembly on the passage of the bill into law,” he said.
He later called for a total implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Prohibition Act and the state’s disability law.
Anyaele urged the state government to ensure the attainment of the objectives of the law, and to improve PWDs’ participation in democratic governance in the state.
He reiterated the commitment and readiness of CCD to support the state government and PWDs in the state, particularly for the full implementation of the law.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the governor signed the bill on Monday to establish the Disability Office, guarantee and protect the rights of persons living with disability.
Fifteen (15) other bills were also signed into law.
Bello signed the bills into law at the Government House, Lokoja, in the presence of the Speaker, Mr Matthew Kolawole and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim (SAN).
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He said Kogi had existed for almost 28 years with nobody ever considering it fit to make and pass those laws, wondering how the state was administered and managed since its creation without those laws.
According to Bello, the bills signed into laws were made possible by the commitment of the devoted and hardworking members of the 6th house of assembly and the current executive under his leadership.
