…We’ve 137,487 PWDs In Register Of Voters, Says INEC
Onyekachi Eze, ABUJA
The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has said a total of 137,487 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) have been captured in the INEC’s register of voters.
Prof. Amupitan, who spoke on Wednesday at a national strategy engagement with executive members of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Abuja, however, explained that the figure was obtained before the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) of registered voters.
The INEC Chairman, who was represented by acting Chairman, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, stated that the figure comprised 13,080 visually impaired persons, 9,299 hearing-impaired persons, 30,561 persons with albinism, 19,430 persons with physical impairment, and 54,941 persons in other categories of disability.
He emphasised the need for sustained and targeted engagement to ensure that Persons with Disabilities are adequately informed, mobilised and supported to participate throughout the electoral process.
Prof. Amupitan assured that the national engagement would be replicated at the state level through Resident Electoral Commissioners, Electoral Officers and other relevant officials.
He called on JONAPWD and the various OPDs to take ownership of the sensitisation process within their respective clusters.
The INEC Chairman described the partnership between INEC, JONAPWD and OPDs as one that “cannot be achieved by the commission alone,” adding that it “requires the collective efforts of disability organisations, civil society organisations and, most importantly, persons with disabilities themselves.”
He added that “the success of our collective efforts will depend on our ability to translate these discussions into concrete actions that can be implemented both at the national and state levels.”
Director, Gender and Inclusivity Department of the commission, Mrs Lakunuya Dorothy Bello, in her remarks, said the commission recognises PWDs as “an important constituency whose voices, choices and participation are essential to the credibility and inclusiveness of our democracy.”
Mrs Bello listed persisting challenges to include access to voter information, voter education, mobilisation and accessibility of electoral facilities, and urged stakeholders to develop sensitisation strategies that are “broad in reach but also targeted, accessible and responsive.”
