The National Director of Persons with Disabilities Affairs of the City Boy Movement (CBM) and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Hon. Mohammed Abba Isa, has mobilised members of the disability community to join the CBM and actively participate in efforts to sustain the gains recorded in disability inclusion under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abba Isa made the call while delivering a keynote address at a World Press Conference organised by the Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN), FCT Chapter, to commemorate the 2026 World Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day.
The event, held on the theme, “From Awareness to Action: Ten Years Advancing SCI Prevention,” brought together government officials, disability advocates, rehabilitation professionals and representatives of organisations working to improve the lives of persons living with spinal cord injuries.
Abba Isa said sustaining progress in disability inclusion, social protection and empowerment required the active participation of persons with disabilities in the democratic process. He urged the disability community to organise, engage and support policies and programmes that promote inclusion and equal opportunities.
“For us to ensure the sustainability and continuity of all these gains and interventions, we must support and ensure the continuity of the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by re-electing him in 2027,” he said.
He described the City Boy Movement as a platform for patriotic Nigerians committed to democracy, good governance, inclusion and national development, urging PWDs to join the movement and contribute to its activities.
Abba Isa subsequently shared the CBM membership registration platform with participants and facilitated their onboarding, stressing that political participation by persons with disabilities should go beyond voting to include advocacy, engagement and active contribution to national development.
He maintained that the Tinubu administration remained committed to building a more inclusive Nigeria where no citizen would be left behind, noting that disability inclusion was increasingly being integrated into governance, economic empowerment and social protection initiatives.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of SCIAN, FCT Chapter, Mrs. Chioma Maureen Egede, called for urgent action to address the shortage of functional rehabilitation centres for spinal cord injury survivors across the country. She stressed that survivors require specialised medical care, wheelchairs, medical consumables and long-term support.
“Having a spinal cord injury is one of the most expensive medical conditions to manage. We need access to wheelchairs and several medical consumables that are essential to the survival and wellbeing of persons with spinal cord injuries,” Egede said.
In a goodwill message, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Ben M. Duru, represented by the Director of Special Needs, Dr. Sunday Hezekiah, commended the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities for its interventions in the disability sector.
Hezekiah called for greater attention to spinal cord injury survivors and stressed that persons with disabilities must be involved from the conception of policies and programmes through implementation and evaluation. He also urged state governments and the FCT Administration to revive and strengthen rehabilitation centres and provide adequate budgetary support.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria, Professor Rufai, advocated stronger collaboration among government institutions, healthcare providers, professional bodies and disability organisations. He called for the revival of existing rehabilitation centres before establishing new ones and urged greater collaboration between the health and education sectors to strengthen rehabilitation services and professional training.
The newly appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President on Land, Air and Sea Transportation and Mobility, Prince Adetokunbo Ademola Ade-John, praised spinal cord injury survivors for their resilience, while former Special Adviser to the Sokoto State Governor on Disability Affairs, Hon. Dr. Abdul’aziz, urged Nigerians to adopt safer road practices to prevent spinal cord injuries.
The Representative of the CBR African Network, Ms. Monica Arinze, called for increased investment in rehabilitation infrastructure, specialised training and inclusive policies guaranteeing access to education, employment and public spaces for persons living with spinal cord injuries. She also urged stronger enforcement of road safety laws and deeper partnerships to expand community-based rehabilitation programmes across Nigeria.
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