The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has said that the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) will be incomplete without consideration for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
The CCD’s Acting Director, Mr. Godwin Unumeri, stated this at an advocacy workshop on the inclusion of PWDs in the PIA benefit structures in the Niger Delta region. The workshop was organised in Owerri on Friday by the Centre with support from the Ford Foundation.
Unumeri, who was represented by the Centre’s Finance and Administration Manager, Mrs. Florence Austin, said the Act was necessitated by the need to include oil-producing communities in the benefits accruing from oil exploration.
He said it would therefore be unfair to include interest groups such as traditional rulers, women, and youth groups, while excluding PWDs, who have obvious peculiarities.
According to him, sustainable development is only possible when it is inclusive. He therefore called for the inclusion of PWDs in the PIA benefit structures to give them a sustainable voice.
“A development process that leaves out PWDs is incomplete and ultimately unjust.
“The vision we must collectively pursue is one where PWDs are not passive beneficiaries but active participants and decision-makers in the development of their communities.
“This exclusion is not just a development oversight; it is a violation of our fundamental rights as enshrined in Nigeria’s legal and policy frameworks, including the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Act and international commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” Unumeri said.
He urged PWDs to remain open, curious, engage constructively with the government and other stakeholders, challenge assumptions, and commit to actionable outcomes.
Also speaking, the CCD’s Programme Officer, Christiana Njoku, advised PWDs to embrace self-advocacy to overcome perceived discrimination in areas such as access to jobs and government grants.
Njoku hoped that the National Assembly would expedite amendments to the PIA to incorporate benefits for PWDs.
Also, the Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Mr. Chidubem Ekwelem, thanked the CCD for advocating for the rights of PWDs.
He also thanked the Imo State Government for giving attention to their needs, while urging PWDs to pursue their goals with utmost civility.
It was reported that representatives of various PWD clusters from different council areas of the state attended the two-day workshop.
