The umbrella association of persons with disabilities in Oyo State, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), has dissociated itself from the protest carried out against the state government on Monday.
Some persons with disabilities had besieged the state secretariat to protest what they call exclusion from the Oyo teachers’ recruitment exercise done by the Teaching Service Commision, TESCOM.
Rising from a meeting which took place in Ibadan on Wednesday, leaders of the major Disability groups that make up the umbrella body – JONAPWD, from all zones of the state, condemned the manner in which those they called unpopular group registered their protest.
They described the protest as unfortunate and embarrassing as they were not informed or carried along by the protesters.
The leaders noted that the protest could have snowballed into a violent one if some unscrupulous elements had hijacked it in the name of sympathizing with people with disabilities.
“While the cluster heads of persons with disabilities wish that the Teaching Service Commission had an upward review of the slots allotted to their people, they also wish to apologize to the Executive Governor of the state Engineer Seyi Makinde and appreciate him for his unflinching support and commitment to the course of persons with disabilities.
“The Teaching Service Commission too should see the protect as the handiwork of a few disgruntled elements who do not believe in using dialogue to resolve issues”.