DINABI urges Ondo to pass Revised Disability law
Disability Not a Barrier Initiative (DINABI) has called on the Ondo State Government to forward the reviewed draft of the state’s disability law as an executive bill to the House of Assembly for speedy passage.
The organisation said this would bring the law in line with national and international standards, enabling the state to join other South-West states that have already domesticated the disability law.
DINABI’s Executive Director, Mr Olajide Funsho Benjamin, stated this on Wednesday at a one-day capacity-building workshop held in Akure to sensitise disability clusters, media practitioners and other stakeholders on legal frameworks, policy formulation and strategic advocacy for inclusive healthcare and social protection.
Benjamin explained that the workshop was designed to empower persons with disabilities (PWDs) to advocate for themselves and to understand how to engage government constructively on issues affecting them.
“The current Ondo State Disability Law only establishes an agency for welfare but does not adequately address inclusive education, social protection, accessible healthcare or gender-based violence.
We have reviewed the law and submitted the draft to the State Law Commission and are urging the government to forward it as an executive bill to the House of Assembly,” Benjamin said.
He noted that, while over 26 states in Nigeria have domesticated the National Disability Act, Ondo remains the only state in the South-West yet to enact a comprehensive disability law.
DINABI’s Programme Officer, Adeleye Faith Aderonke, stressed that participants were being equipped to view disability as a rights-based rather than a charity model, to strengthen their advocacy for inclusion and non-discrimination.
Legal practitioner Barr. Oloruntosin Ogunlowo called for stronger enforcement mechanisms, lamenting that many inspectorate and regulatory bodies in the state were inactive due to lack of funding and resources.
“Most of our laws are sleeping when formulated. It is we, human beings, who must activate them,” he said, urging NGOs and the public to escalate issues to attract government response.
Participants such as Pastor Ladi Adefemi from the Visual Impairment Cluster described the training as an eye-opener on how to channel demands effectively.
The workshop brought together NGOs, legal experts, media representatives and state officials, who pledged to support the disability community in pushing for the review and implementation of an inclusive law in Ondo State.
