TAF Africa Calls for more Inclusion of PWD in Cabinets

The albino foundation TAF Africa has advocated for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every sphere of governance and the recognition of their rights.

It was noted by Founder and CEO Jake Epelle, that they were dissatisfied with the recently conducted general election, which did not include people with disabilities.

He said, “ TAF Africa through its European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria organized a program to build the capacity of persons with disabilities (PWD) who decided to contest for elective positions across states in the country on leadership, political engagement, and crowdfunding”.

“ Though none of the engaged PWD candidates won the polls, their willingness to contest is a strong message that persons with disabilities are capable of contesting for elections in their various states and at the national level and will be willing to perform when given the opportunity”.

Accordingly, he encouraged all elected officials to work towards the inclusion and strengthening of the political voices of persons with disabilities within the Nigerian political process.

He continues, “We wish to express our disappointment that despite the disability inclusion interventions at the national level, the transition committee of the president-elect has no representation of the community of persons with disabilities. This could have been a unique opportunity to break down social stigmas by ensuring that persons with disabilities appear alongside other citizens as active participants in the transition process of the president-elect”.

However, he expressed his appreciation for the efforts of patriotic Nigerians, organizations of persons with disabilities and civil society organizations in promoting awareness of disability inclusion in the electoral process in Nigeria as well as providing assistance to individuals with disabilities.