Anambra State Commissioner for Special Duties, Rt Hon. Barrister Beverly Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche says creating inclusive communities for persons with disabilities is a moral imperative that demands every sense of urgency.
Rt Hon. Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche stated this in a press statement released to journalists today in Awka to mark this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
She emphasized that beyond what the government can do in making laws, implementing and enforcing them and initiating policies that guarantee equal opportunities for people living with disabilities in every sphere of life, it behoves on every member of society to make conscious efforts to uphold the rights and welfare of vulnerable people at every minute no matter how small it might look.
The Special Duties Commissioner insisted that the Anambra Disability Rights Law 2018 has set the road map on how to protect and preserve the rights of persons with disabilities, but explained that the spirit of the Law can only be achieved when every member of the society is determined to take necessary steps that will give someone with disability a sense of belonging and dignify their existence.
She noted that while providing members of the disability community with food items and other philanthropic gestures are important, ensuring that public places are accessible to them, protecting them from all forms of abuse and discrimination, giving them access to opportunities and making them parts of the decision making that concerns them and the wider society are most essential to guaranteeing and preserving the dignity of their human person.
Commissioner Ikpeazu-Nkemdiche praised Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his wife, Nonye, for always being at the forefront of promoting the welfare of people with disabilities and said their strategic policy decisions and gestures are making Anambra a true liveable and prosperous homeland for persons with disability.
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