Out of 35.5 million only 4,000 register for disability certificate, NCPWD laments

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, NCPWD has expressed dissatisfaction on the slow pace of registration for issuance of permanent disability certificate for persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr James David Lalu expressed the displeasure at a one-day zonal programme for the production and issuance of permanent disability certificate for the Northwest, held in Kano on Monday.
Speaking with newsmen at the event, the Lalu, represented by Ikem Uchegbulam, Director Compliance and Enforcement, NCPWD, lamented that only about 4,000 persons with disabilities accessed the registration portal.
According to him, there are currently 35.5 million persons with disabilities in Nigeria, noting that the number of the persons that have registered is insignificant.
Lalu said that is the reason the Commission decided to embark on massive campaign through sensitization programmes in the six geopolitical zones in the country.
The Executive Secretary explained that the Discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibition act 2018 had empowered the Commission to issue the permanent certificate of disability.
He added that the certificate is a legal requirement, under the act, to obtain remedies, which include right to sue organization over denial of job or failure to provide access to buildings, among others.
“The discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibition act 2018, empowered the national commission for persons with disabilities to issue permanent certificate of disability to persons with disabilities.
“ Understand the act, there is provision for possession of the family certificate of disability as a legal requirement for obtaining remedies or remedies under the act.
“So a person with disability cannot seek to obtain any remedy under the act except if the person shows evidence of possession of national certificate of disabilities, which is issued by the national commission for persons with disabilities,” he said.
Lalu also explained that the certificate has security features that make it possible for any organization or any person to verify the authenticity of its genuinety.
He warned fraudsters and scammers to avoid attempting to forge the certificate as anybody found wanting would face the full wrath of the law.
The Executive Secretary stressed that the certificate is issued exclusively by the NCPWD, calling on the persons with disabilities to come out en mass to register for the certificate on www.acpwd.gov.ng.