Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The wife of Kogi State governor, Hajia Amina Bello, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Nigeria Disability Bill, meant to ameliorate the plight of the physically challenged in the country. The Disability Bill has been waiting for the president’s assent for some time now having successfully scaled through both chambers of the National Assembly.
Speaking to journalist Friday in Abuja ahead of the 2017 International Day of Cerebral Palsy, she expressed the belief that the challenges facing persons living with disabilities in the polity would be addressed when the law becomes operational.
Hajia Bello, who said she was motivated by her personal journey and experience with cerebral palsy which affects her son, Hayatullah, disclosed that the foundation is seeking to raise funds next week to help draw attention to the illness and as part of efforts to set up a Pan-African Institute for Children with Special Needs in the mould of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, United States.
The Kogi governor’s wife is also the brain behind the establishment of the Hayat Foundation which caters for the needs of children with cerebral palsy.
She noted that the disability legislation would accord persons with disability the dignity and respect they deserve in the polity.
Details later…
