Senator Jimoh Ibrahim Advocates for Inclusive Policies for People with Disabilities
The Senator representing Ondo Southern Senatorial District in the Nigeria Senate, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim has declared that there’s need for data bank of People With Disabilities(PWDs) across all senatorial districts of the federation.
He stated this while presenting a paper at the 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Regional Conference, themed: Strengthening Democracy Governance and Resilience in Africa: Tackling Conflict, Economic Shocks, and Climate risks, holding in Banjul, Gambia, on Thursday.
The billionaire business magnate noted that such data would avail each senator and the Federal Government of Nigeria the record to project with while designing any programme for the PWDs.
Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim emphasised that there’s need to provide free education for the class of people in the nation up to tertiary level.
He suggested 0.1 percent of the assumed 10 percent going into waste to fund education of people with disabilities.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim said: “We must talk to our leaders and look into the cases of people with disabilities(PWDs). How many people with disabilities(PWDs) are there in our constituencies.
“We should go back home and do restitution and pray for forgiveness. Let’s talk to our mind in kindness. Whether we have human face that other people’s challenge are there and they are not represented.
“We have to discuss them first before we can know which option to take. As I leave here in fullness of emotion and dissatisfaction in my mind that I’m not extremely too kind to people with disabilities(PWDs), I will be going back to the Senate, with my colleagues here, we are going to actually pass a legislation that all people with disabilities(PWDs) in Nigeria should receive free education.
“I will prepare this bill and I can tell you in just two weeks it will become the law. So, if we can do that, other leaders are here from Lagos State. They can do better. They have absolute legitimacy of their parliaments. They can also insists that all people with disabilities(PWDs) in Lagos will enjoy free education.
“It costs less than 0.5% of our national budget. In fact, 0.1% of our national budget, and there’s an assumption that 10% of our budget should go into waste. So, let’s take 1% of that waste into people with disabilities(PWDs) who want a better life.
“Positions, ministerial appointments, you never can ever find any people with disabilities(PWDs) there.”