The Lagos State Government, through its agency, the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) has partnered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to establish eight special centers for registration of PWDs.
The General Manager, LASODA, Mr. Dare Ogundairo, speaking at a Press Conference held at Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos on Friday 22 July, 2022, remarked thus: “our concerns about having more persons with disabilities obtaining their permanent voters cards (PVCs) is being done in collaboration with INEC.
We seek to have special centers dedicated to registration of PWDs. The registration will take place on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 July 2022 and, arrangements have been concluded for this exercise”
Speaking further, Mr. Dare encouraged PWDs to go to centers closest to them to register for their PVCs. He noted that the General Elections slated for next year is an exercise for which no be left must leave no one behind”
The special centers are located in the five Ibile Division of the State in Epe, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Badagry, Ikeja, Idi- Araba, Oko-Baba, and Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.
He urged the administrators of different disability clusters to take advantage of the exercise to even representation.
“PWDs should try as much as possible to go to these places because it would be wrong if INEC take the machine there and people do not turn up. It is just for two days and we want to make sure that the purpose of this exercise is achieved.”
The Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Disability Affairs – Mrs. Adenike Oyetunde Lawal, reiterated the needs for stakeholders in Lagos State disability community to see this initiative coming from the Lagos State Government shows the Governor – Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu cares for disability community. It behoves PWDs to grab the opportunity and get more of their members registered, she emphasized.
Also speaking, the Head of Voters Registry, INEC Lagos, Mr. Muyiwa Yusuf assured that machines and INEC personnel would be deployed to the special centers within the two days as requested by LASODA.
Yusuf also noted that out of the over ten million Nigerians already captured nationwide, only seventy-five thousand, four hundred and twenty-two are PWDs.
He thereafter appealed to all Lagos residents who have not collected their Permanent Voters Card, PVC to do so, noting that out of the over six million registered voters in Lagos, about one million PVCs are yet to be collected.
The eight special centres that have been designated for this purpose are; Ikorodu Central Local Government Area, Ikorodu; Ability and Disability Centre, Ajara, Badagry; Old Secretariat, Ikeja; Onikan Youth Centre, Lagos Island; Sports Recreation Centre, Epe; Idi-Araba Correctional Centre; Teslim Balogun Stadium and Correctional Centre, Oko-Baba, Ebute-Metta.
By – Adewale Adeyanju INN Reporter