Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia
By TYAV SAM TYAV, Makurdi –
Benue State Government is prepared to start work on the domestication of the disability Act in the state.
The Director-General (DG), Bureau of International Development and Coordination unit (BICD), Mr. Leonard Angelo Viashima stated this when the Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), team led by its Executive Director, Grace Jerry paid him a courtesy call at the weekend in Makurdi.
The DG assured that he would lobby relevant agencies of government particularly the lawmakers in the State House of Assembly to facilitate the quick passage of the disability bill pending at the Assembly.
Viashima informed that he was touched that the process of the passage of the Bill was at snail speed adding that he was collaborating with other states of the federation to see that the law sees the light of the day.
The Special Assistant to the Governor on Disability Matters, Mr. Bem Anshe in his remarks lamented the lukewarm attitude of the past administration regarding the interest of the disabled.
He expressed the belief that the Alia administration was paying attention to their welfare, and appreciated the Director General of BICD for creating enough time to attend to issues affecting the physically challenged people.
The Executive Director, the Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), Miss Grace Jerry, had earlier noted that Benue was the only state in North Central Nigeria yet to domesticate the disability Act and appealed to the DG to take up the matter at the State Executive Council meeting for quick action even as he stressed the need for the government to appropriate budget allocation for the project in the state.
According to IFA team leader “The Disability Act has yet to be domesticated in the state, which has left persons with disabilities vulnerable to exclusion because there is no law requiring key sectors to support them appropriately”.
