By Eben Enasco Kingsley, Benin City
People Living With Disabilities, PWD’s will no longer be over look in the scheme of things in any electioneering procedures says Independence National Electoral Commission in partnership with International Republican Institute, IRI, and political parties across board.
The assurance was made at a sensitization workshop held in Benin City by IRI in partnership with INEC and other relevant stakeholders ahead of the Edo State Governorship Election billed for September 10, 2016.
In a speech credited to the Deputy Director, Civil Societies Organizations, representative INEC Headquarters Abuja, Mrs. Rose Orianran-Anthony opined that the objectives of the workshop was geared towards ensuring that the PWD’s fully participates in the election.
She said, “we are making our information available to them at various summate if there are specifically any needs and as such we are also training our officers ahead on how to relate with them. Again we have giving them a priority status to ensure that they come all out to cast their votes without challenges”.
Earlier, the coordinator of IRI, Mr. Sunday ALao disclosed that it was necessary to sensitize people living with disabilities to ensure that they become very relevant as per electioneering processes across the state.
Responding on behalf of PWD’s, the President of Network of Advancement for People with Disabilities, Barr Melody Omasa commended the organizers of the workshop while calling on stakeholders’ synergy in helping propagate the already established relationship.
Omasa however summed it by demanding in its priorities, providence of PWD’s representative in political activities, creation of desks officers to supervise Disabilities in political activities, Accessibility to party offices, scholarship to PWD’s, Free Health Care services and retirement age be increased as the group agenda to enable them vote for any candidate that meets its obligations as the election draw ever closer.
Political Party’s representatives cut across every nooks and craning attended the event with various promises made to participants.
