December, 11(THEWILL) – The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities(NCPWD) has expressed concern over the low turnout of persons with disabilities for registration for issuance of Permanent Certificate of Disability.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr James Lalu, stated this in Kano on Monday, while addressing newsmen on the sidelines of a one-day Zonal Programme for the Production and Issuance of Permanent Certificate of Disability For the Northwest Zone.
Represented by Mr Ikem Uchegbulam, the commission’s Director of Compliance and Enforcement, Lalu said out of the 35.5 million Nigerians with disabilities, only about 4,000 had so far registered on the commission’s Portal for the issuance of the certificate.
He said the apathy prompted the commission to move the registration exercise to the geo-political zones of the country to sensitise the persons with disabilities to enable them to register for the certificate.
He said the Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Prohibition Act 2018 empowered the commission to issue permanent certificates of disability to persons with disabilities.
The executive secretary said under Section 22, the Act made the issuance and possession of the permanent certificate of disability a legal requirement for obtaining remedies under the Act.
“So, a person with a disability cannot effectively sue to obtain any remedy under the Act, except the person shows evidence of possession of a permanent certificate of disability which is issued by the National Commission for Persons With Disabilities”, he added.
Our Correspondents report that hundreds of persons with disabilities from the zone turned out for the programme which took place at the Milton Park Hotel and Resort, Sabon Gari, Kano.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
