NAN-H-9
Bill
By Maureen Ojinaka-Nwanosike
Enugu, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) The Joint Association of People Living with Disability (JAPLD) on Tuesday urged the Enugu State House of Assembly to quicken the passage of the Disability Bill to alleviate their problems.
Mr Sammy Obiefuna, a former Chairman of the association, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
Obiefuna said that the passage of the bill would give every disabled person a sense of belonging and would be beneficial to them.
He said that numerous disabled graduates who ought to have been working for the state and making a good living were being neglected because of one deformity or the other.
He explained that the plight of people living with disabilities were many due to delay in the passage of the bill.
“Once the bill is passed, those with disability will begin to reap all the benefits which their counterparts in developed countries enjoy.
“The bill proposes free education, job provision as well as poverty reduction among the disabled,’’ he said.
He urged state governors to ensure the introduction of sign language in both primary and secondary schools so as to make learning easier for the physically challenged persons.
“I laud Gov. Akinwumi Ambode for introducing the teaching of sign language in Lagos State schools.’’
Obiefuna lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing a physically challenged person as one of his aides which showed that the president had us in his mind.
Obiefuna noted that he was sure that the president would not hesitate to sign the bill into law “since he is a man of justice’’. (NAN)
OJI/HS/PDE
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(Edited by Halima Sheji/Peter Ejiofor)