The Centre for Infrastructural and Technological Advancement for the Blind (CITAB) has called on the Lagos State Government to prioritise employment, healthcare and accessible public transportation for persons with disabilities over the proposed introduction of specialised vehicle number plates by the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA).
The organisation made the call in a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday by its Executive Chairman, Comrade Jolomi George Fenemigho, who described the proposed specialised plate number scheme as a misplaced priority that fails to address the everyday challenges confronting the majority of persons with disabilities across the state.
According to Fenemigho, many persons with disabilities continue to grapple with unemployment, limited access to affordable healthcare, inadequate housing support and inaccessible public transportation. He argued that disability policies should focus on addressing these structural barriers rather than introducing initiatives that primarily benefit those who own private vehicles.
“In Lagos today, countless disabled individuals remain unemployed, without access to free comprehensive healthcare, discounted housing programmes or accessible public transportation. Yet LASODA considers a specialised plate number a priority. For an agency dedicated to disability rights, such a choice is a glaring dereliction of duty. It leaves one to question whose interests LASODA is truly serving and who is advising the agency on these matters,” he said.
CITAB also described the proposed scheme as exclusionary, noting that the vast majority of persons with disabilities rely on public transportation and do not own private vehicles. The organisation argued that vehicle-centred policies risk excluding those most in need of government support.
“LASODA seems to forget that a specialised plate number is of no consequence to a person with a disability who cannot even afford three square meals, let alone a private car. When an agency that should champion inclusion instead designs benefits for a tiny, financially buoyant minority, it sidelines millions of persons with disabilities who depend on public transportation just to survive. Policies must serve the entire disability community, not just a privileged few,” Fenemigho stated.
The organisation further questioned the effectiveness of specialised vehicle plates without adequate public awareness, enforcement and accessible infrastructure, maintaining that similar initiatives have produced little impact due to weak implementation.
Rather than pursuing what it described as tokenistic measures, CITAB urged LASODA and the Lagos State Government to focus on meaningful reforms, including increased employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the state and local government civil service, disability awareness training for transport operators, enforceable accessibility standards for public transportation, and improved access to public infrastructure.
CITAB also called on the Lagos State Government to establish affordable and accessible transport systems, introduce employment targets for persons with disabilities across ministries, departments and agencies, strengthen healthcare and housing support programmes, ensure transparency in disability-related funding, and give Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) a formal role in designing, implementing and monitoring disability policies.
Fenemigho maintained that disability rights should be protected through comprehensive and enforceable policies that improve the lives of all persons with disabilities, regardless of their economic status.
“A government’s vision must be broad enough to accommodate every person with a disability, from the job seeker in the suburbs to the self-employed worker in the local market. Disability rights are fundamental human rights, not privileges reserved for those with financial means. We demand comprehensive, enforceable policies that guarantee equal opportunities, dignified living standards and accessible public spaces for all persons with disabilities in Lagos State,” he said.
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