Over 95 per cent of public buildings in Nigeria are not accessible to persons with disabilities, the Federal Government has said.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Farouq, said this in Abuja on Friday.

She also stated that majority of persons with disabilities were in need of assistive devices and technologies to improve access to education and learning.

She was quoted in a statement issued by her media aide, Nneka Anibeze, as saying, “There is need for proactive measures to curtail the negative attitude towards persons with disabilities.

“This is by creating mass awareness, eliminating discrimination in all forms and improving their livelihood.”
Farouq urged government and private institutions to make public buildings and other infrastructure including airports, railways, motor parks and schools accessible to persons with disabilities.

She thanked the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for assenting to the National Disability Act and for establishing the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities.

Farouq, however, noted that the disability community in the country had been excluded from basic amenities.

“The need for precise data on persons with disabilities and the issuance of disability certificates are significant in ensuring that the benefits of this commission are accurately provided for the targeted population to avoid manipulations of government’s effort,” she stated.

The minister said persons with disabilities had been given relief items and palliatives to ensure their inclusion in the ministry’s activities and in all social investment programmes.

Farouq added that thousands of persons with disabilities had been touched directly through several intervention programmes of the present administration.