The Special Adviser to Ekiti State government on Special Education and Social Inclusion, Adetoun Agboola, has warned critics to avoid playing politics with government’s efforts aimed at improving the living standards of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
This followed complaints by the new leadership of the Joint Association of Persons Living with Disabilities on members’ welfare. But Agboola clarified that Ekiti State government, under Governor Biodun Oyebanji, has made notable progress in enhancing the lives of People with Disabilities (PWDs).
She said the key initiatives include implementing the disability law, mandatory ramps in public buildings, and Ekiti Kete online sign language lessons for civil servants and political officeholders.
She added that the state has enforced a five per cent employment law for PWDs as well as provided free medical access through the ministry of health.
The government, she said, has integrated technology into special schools and established three new special schools catering to the deaf, blind, and physically challenged.
These schools, she explained, feature multi-sensory adapted classrooms and therapy rooms, a first for Nigerian public schools.
“Vocational training has been bolstered with new equipment and dedicated teachers, improving both the educational outcomes and quality of life for students with disabilities,” she said.
But Chairman, Joint Association of Persons Living with Disabilities, Ekiti State, Tokunbo Familusi, identified inaccessible buildings and insufficient implementation of the disability law as some of the issues.
He called for more job opportunities, scholarships, and additional special schools, particularly in rural areas. Familusi also stressed the need for PWDs’ representation in government, advocating appointments as board members.
Agboola countered Familusi’s criticisms, pointing to the state’s inclusive policies such as free basic healthcare, compulsory free education from primary to secondary levels, and scholarships for PWDs.
She added that the state granted examination access arrangements for PWDs during the civil service examination and exceeded the five per cent employment quota for junior cadre positions.
According to Agboola, the government identified 117 out-of-school children with disabilities, enrolling 74 in special schools and planning a residential home for people living with profound conditions on 3.6 hectares of procured land.
Meanwhile, Ekiti State Permanent Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr Charles Doherty, also affirmed that 2307 persons with disabilities, who registered with the state government, had been enrolled in the government free health programme and other initiates to make life better and easier.
