Kaduna State Govt Passes Disability Bill Into Law As JONAPWD Hails El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai has passed into an act, the Persons with Disabilities Bill.

This was disclosed in a press briefing by the JONAPWD, Kaduna State Chairman, Suleiman Abdulazeez, on passage of Kaduna State Disability Bill into an Act..

The association noted that the long awaited Disability Bill has been passed into Law by His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mal. Nasiru El-rufai.

According to Abdulazeez, the bill was initiated by JONAPWD, Kaduna State Chapter under the leadership of Comrade Rilwan M, Abdullahi. It began as a private Bill in 2009. This was followed by over a decade of relentless advocacy by the Disability Community along with Civil Society Organizations, media, and relevant stakeholders supporting the Community to ensure the Bill sees the light of day.

The proposed bill was to mainstream and integrate persons with disabilities into the larger society. It ensures that Persons with Disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The bill guarantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in public, private sectors, to access equal services delivery.

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Abdulazeez recalled that during the 2015 general election campaigns, the State Governor engaged Persons with disability and promised, if elected, to take up the bill as an Executive Bill. According to him, the Governor had kept to his promise.

“We sincerely believe that this legacy and achievement by the Executive Governor of Kaduna State will take our members off the street, reduce the frequecy of discrimination and other barriers faced by the Community as regards participating in all aspects of Society.

“We highly commend the action and effort of the State Government for promoting the rights of Persons with Disabilities, we believe that this Law will guarantee the rights and rehabilitation of PWDs to achieve equalization of opportunities, meanwhile, the entire Disability Community will be afforded full access to mainstream society.

“We want to use this medium to thank and appreciate the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, the State House of Assembly under Rt. Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, The Hon. Commissioner for Human Service and Social Development, Director Rehabilitation Board, Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace Empowerment & Development (CALPED), Partnerships to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL), Accountability Lab, Open Kaduna Radio and other CSOs/media and individuals for their wonderful contributions toward the actualization of the Kaduna State Disability Law, Abdulazeez said.”

The State Commissioner for Human Service and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Mohammed Baba, said the passage into law of the disability bill is another milestone achievement of Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i led government.