Mr. David Anyaele, Executive Director (ED), Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), has called on federal and state governments, to offer free and compulsory primary and secondary education to people with disabilities in the country.
Anyaele made the call on Tuesday in Kano while declaring open a workshop for people with special needs in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the workshop was: “Corruption and the Nigerian Disability Act.
The ED, who was represented by the CCD Head Finance and Administration, Florence Austine, said the workshop was aimed at enlightening the public, especially its members on the dangers of corruption and the way out.
He explained that if free and compulsory primary and secondary education is provided to the people with disabilities in the country, the high rate of street begging will drastically reduce.
Anyaele noted that inadequate support to the people with special needs increases their poverty level which sometimes leads them to engage in corruption.
According to the ED, the forum was also to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in the government of the state.
“And also we want to look at the ways to ensure that the law recently established for the people with special needs in the country, become effective and well-implemented”, he said.
He added that CCD came up with the topic on corruption because their research indicated that there is a linkage between disability, poverty and corruption.
Anyaele, therefore, said there is the need for both the federal and state governments to provide a special budget for the people with special needs and those states that had already done so, to increase the budget size.
In his response, the Kano State Head of Service, Dr Kabiru Shehu, said the state government under the leadership of Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, was committed to the development of people with disabilities.
According to him, Ganduje’s administration had recently declared free and compulsory primary to secondary education in the state, which includes people with special needs.
He said, “The administration will not relent in initiating things that would make a great impact on the lives of the people, especially those with special needs”.
Shehu explained that recently two people with special needs were given appointment in different government organisations in the state.
“We are also committed to fighting corruption in the state through various means of fighting the menace, and we will not get tired until we achieve the desired goals, ” he said.
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