The forum which compromises of disability groups in the state also lamented that though the Edo State Government has provided free transportation for Edo people to cushion the effects of the removal many of its members, especially those on wheelchairs cannot access the vehicles because they were not fitted with rams.
The group led by its convener and the Executive Director of Network for the Advancement of People Living with Visible Disabilities(NAPVID), Bar Melody Omosah ,while on advocacy visits to the Ministry of Transport and Ministry Budget and Economic Planning,Edo State pleaded with the government to consider fitted rams when ordering the next batch of buses for it’s mass transportation.
Omosah, said that the PWDs are three times more disadvantaged and disproportionately affected by the fuel subsidy removal adding that it’s fostering inequality against PWDs and further limiting their inclusivity and opportunities.
The NAPVID boss said that recently, NAPVID, under the “Resilient Net: Empowering Inclusivity and Adaptability in Emergency” Project, conducted Focus Group Discussion (FGD), among disability clusters across the three senatorial districts of Edo State, and administered 20 questionnaires to PWD households in each of the three senatorial districts in the state, to ascertain first hand of the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on the lives and livelihood of Persons with Disabilities.
He noted that, Key Informant Interviews (KIl), was carried out among senior officials in ministries, departments and agencies, to find out the programme of government for PWDs Post Fuel Subsidy Removal and maintained that statistics from the survey, reveal that 100 percent of PWDshave encountered increased financial strain post-subsidy removal.
According to him, “personal stories underline the daily struggles faced, from inaccessible and unaffordable transportation, social exclusion to compromised healthcare. These studies also indicate a direct correlation between subsidy removal and a decline in overall well-being for this demography.”
He said that PWDs described the current economic situation occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal, as alarming, critical, unbearable, suffocating and frustrating,and appealed to the ministry to work out a modality to see that the PWDs are placed on a monthly stipend so that they can be able to cater for some of their daily needs.
Reacting ,the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Edo State, Mr. Osilama Okuofu, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Iserhienrhien Efe apologized to Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the state for not including them in the free bus ride scheme and
said that it was not deliberate but that the buses were bought about 15 years ago and that there was nothing like palliative as at then.
Okuofu said that the word palliative gained prominence since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic adding that they should bear with the government and that going forward, they will always be carried along.
The Commissioner said that as for the new secretariat, the PWDs were placed in focus while designing it.
While admitting that the economic is really bitting hard on Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, Okuofu said those worse hit are the PWDs.
“People living with Disabilities need the support of everyone including that of the government, the ministry will henceforth keep an eye on all budget submitted by various ministries to ensure that it captures the interest of the PWDs in the state.”
