2023: Albino Foundation Holds Mentorship Forum for PWDs Contesting Political Offices Nationwide
- A conference for Persons With Disabilities contesting for elective positions in the forthcoming 2023 general elections was recently held in Abuja
- The platform is expected to provide solutions to some of the challenges Persons With Disabilities contesting for elective positions face
- At the event, stakeholders called for a more enabling environment for Persons With Disabilities to participate in the election process
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FCT, Abuja - The Albino Foundation (TAF) on Monday, December 12 organised a forum in Abuja for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) contesting for various political offices across the country ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The event attended by a Legit.ng reporter tagged Electability Confab 1.0 with the theme: “Election, Leadership, Mentorship” was supported by the European Union (EU).
Source: Twitter
Delivering a welcome address, Ambassador Jake Epelle, founder of TAF, said the conference was a leadership and mentorship forum targeted at PWDs contesting or aspiring to contest for elective positions in the 2023 elections, as well as appointed or decision making positions.
He, however, called on development partners to assist candidates from PWDs to get elected.
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He said:
“This platform will provide solutions to some of the challenges Persons With Disabilities contesting for elective positions face.
“If we can get one or two of them elected, they will serve as role models and people that the entire community can look up to and will in turn inspire others to come out to participate.
“Sixteen per cent of the entire electorate will be from the community of PWDs and you will agree with me that with that kind of number, we can determine who wins this election.
“That is why we must come together as one to ensure that not only will our voice be heard, but our votes will also be heard.”
On her part, the minister of women affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, called on the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) to ensure all necessary support for PWDs and women to participate in the general elections in 2023 are provided.
She, however, urged Nigerians to vote credible candidates and not people who offered them money.
She stated:
“When you get money, you will make a nice pot of soup for just one day, after that you mortgage your children, your life and country for the remaining four years.”
In a keynote address, the chairman, Board of Trustees, TAF, Prof. Vincent Anigbogu, said that changing sociopolitical norms and creating space for historically marginalised and vulnerable people to fill leadership roles in the society was no small task.
According to him, PWDs often face systemic, enduring exclusion and discrimination in most societies.
He noted that:
“The World Health Organisation estimates 15 to 20 per cent of the world’s population (approximately one billion people) as having a disability.
“PWDs make up the world’s largest minority group and remain the most underrepresented in parliaments and political parties, which further limit their ability to directly engage in decisions that impact their lives.”
He, however, said that the PWDs have a say in how the country is run, the right to vote in elections, the right to become a candidate in elections and the right to take part in politics.
He added that irrespective of one’s disability status or type, as citizens of Nigeria, everyone can vote and be voted for, as all citizens have the right to belong to one political party or the other.
Also speaking, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr James Christoff, said that the Government of Canada was working with Nigeria to address some issues which include electability and other barriers to inclusion.
His words:
“Including voices from diverse backgrounds in identifying systemic discrimination and barriers to inclusion and using those same voices to design and implement actions to address those challenges.
“We are making progress in supporting women in particular Nigeria, in the electoral process, and we will continue to look for ways to assist other marginalised communities to ensure their votes are counted and their voices are heard.”
There were also panel discussions at the event with participants like Dr. Chike Okogwu; Executive Director, Centre For Ability Rehabilitation and Empowerment, Ene Obi; Country Director, Action Aid Nigeria and Nwagwu Ezenwa, Executive Director, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa among others.
At the end of the event, the undersigned persons with disabilities contesting for elective office in the 2023 general elections resolved and reaffirmed as follows:
i. That we will continue to demonstrate courage and responsibility, take advantage of the opportunities and pursue our empowerment for mainstreaming persons with disabilities in politics at both the community and party levels.
ii. We will demonstrate the moral and ethical fortitude to provide good leadership at every level we are privileged to serve.
iii. That we will commit to building our emotional and intellectual capacities as much as is required for the building of efficient systems for a development, social cohesion, and progressive leadership for not just the community of persons with disabilities, but also our wider electoral constituencies.
iv. That we will work with INEC, the SIECs, inter-security agencies, and other stakeholders towards ensuring the smooth conduct of the 2023 general elections and subsequent off-cycle elections.
v. That we will support each other, as much as is practicable in the circumstance and regardless of our party affiliations, to pursue our common aspirations that further the achievement of full and equitable representation of the community of persons with disabilities in Nigeria’s political landscape.
vi. That the core values and competence we represent shall be beyond our identity as persons with disabilities but will include goodwill, community-based leadership, and hope for our various constituencies, regardless of the outcome and beyond the 2023 elections.
They also recommend the establishment of a Trust Fund for persons with disabilities to cater to the needs borne out of our socio-economic status.
2023: Albino Foundation begins electoral sensitisation in Abuja IDPs camp
Recall that TAF recently took its sensitisation campaign to the camp of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
On Saturday, December 3, the foundation took a trip to the IDPs camp at Durumi, Abuja, to commemorate the “International Day of Persons with Disability.”
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Epelle said the voter education campaign for the IDPs showed inclusiveness for other segments of the Nigerian population.
2023: Albino Foundation tasks political parties on inclusive campaigns
Meanwhile, TAF has advised candidates and political parties in the forthcoming 2023 general elections to ensure an inclusive campaign in all their programmes.
Ambassador Epelle warned the parties not to take the votes of the PWDs in the country for granted, adding that the disability community has the numbers to change the outcome of the elections at different levels.
He also said that campaign materials should be produced in accessible formats to reach different clusters of PWDs; the visually impaired and persons with albinism among others.
Source: Legit.ng
