By Rhoda Godwin
YENAGOA – Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Bayelsa State have called on the Federal Government to strengthen their capacity to develop a supplementary framework to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that guarantees their inclusion in the benefits and opportunities provided under the law.
The appeal was made on Friday during a two-day Capacity Building Workshop organised by the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) in Yenagoa. The workshop, themed “Ending Barriers Against Niger Deltans with Disabilities,” was designed to enhance the ability of PWDs to advocate for their inclusion in the implementation of the PIA and existing disability laws.
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Participants, drawn from various disability clusters across Bayelsa State, presented a charter of demands to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), urging the agency to ensure that persons with disabilities are adequately represented in the benefit structures established under the PIA.
According to the participants, while the PIA recognises women, youths and traditional rulers as key stakeholders in host communities, it fails to make specific provisions for persons with disabilities.
The group called on the NUPRC to direct Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs) to incorporate disability-related concerns into their programmes in line with the National Disability Act, which provides for a minimum five per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities.
They noted that the PIA requires oil companies to contribute three per cent of their annual operating expenditure to fund HCDTs, which are responsible for driving development projects in host communities.
Speaking at the workshop, the facilitator and Chairman of the Abia State Commission for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, Mr. David Anyaele, assured participants of his commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities in Bayelsa are not left out of development opportunities.
Anyaele, who is also the Founder of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, said persons with disabilities possess the capacity to contribute meaningfully to the growth of their families and communities when given equal opportunities.
He cited global and national disability statistics, noting that more than 1.3 billion people worldwide, representing about 16 per cent of the global population, live with one form of disability or another, while the World Bank estimated that about 29 million Nigerians were living with disabilities as of 2018.
According to him, the number of persons with disabilities in Nigeria continues to rise due to factors such as conflicts, violence, accidents and inadequate healthcare services.
He urged participants to make effective use of the training to improve their livelihoods and support other members of the disability community.
Anyaele further referenced the 1999 Constitution, stressing that Nigeria’s social order is founded on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and that government policies and actions must reflect these ideals by promoting the welfare and rights of persons with disabilities.
He added that government has an obligation to guarantee access to education, security, healthcare and other essential services for citizens living with disabilities.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Bayelsa State Chapter, Mr. Mayor Ekpomokumo, said disability groups in the state were united in demanding full participation in the implementation of the PIA.
“JONAPWD, as the umbrella body of all organisations of persons with disabilities in Bayelsa State, is demanding inclusion in every benefit structure established under the PIA. This is a collective demand by all stakeholders,” he said.
Ekpomokumo noted that the charter of demands also addressed the roles of oil companies, traditional institutions, civil society organisations and the private sector in promoting disability inclusion.
He commended Governor Douye Diri for signing the Bayelsa State Persons with Disabilities Bill into law, describing the move as a significant step towards protecting the rights and welfare of persons with disabilities in the state.
In her remarks, Senior Programme Officer of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, Florence Attah, highlighted the environmental challenges facing communities in the Niger Delta, including water pollution, declining fish populations and acid rain.
She called on government and relevant stakeholders to take urgent action to address the environmental issues affecting the livelihoods and wellbeing of residents in the region.
