The Inter-Party Advisory Council and the Cedar Seed Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding for the inclusion of women with disabilities in Nigerian politics.
The IPAC National Chairman, Mr. Yusuf Mammam, said that the council signed the memorandum to encourage persons with disabilities to join politics.
He said that the concept of democracy is about inclusion.
“We had discussions, and the whole thing is about democracy. Where any segment of human society is exempted, whether deliberately or inadvertently, in the process or in the democratic space, democracy is injured. So, for you to have a true democracy, you must ensure that every member of the society, whether able or disabled, must be included. Whoever is able today is a prospective disabled human being. So, we must ensure that everybody comes on board. And IPAC would do everything to ensure that we achieve this. And that is the purpose of the MOU we have with the Ceder Seed Foundation today,” Mr. Mammam said.
He also said that the council has made provision in its constitution for the nineteen political parties to have desk officers for PWDs.
He said that IPAC would ensure that all the political parties in the council make their expression of interest forms free for PWD.
“And that is why we further advise that every member of the PWD family should ensure they register in any political party of their choice amongst the nineteen political parties in IPAC,“ he said.
He added that IPAC will always support the Cedar Seed Foundation to achieve total inclusion.
The Executive Director of Cedar Seed Foundation, Mrs Lois Auta, said that the organisation is very proud of IPAC for its inclusive position.
She noted that the objective of the MOU is to include issues of persons with disabilities, especially women, in every political activity in the country.
“We want to see inclusiveness in elective and appointive positions for persons with disabilities as enshrined in the Nigerian Disability Act, which states that a cent should be reserved for the political participation of citizens with disabilities. We want this to be achieved. So, today is a good day; today is a beautiful day; today is a historic day in the lives of persons with disabilities in Nigeria,“ Mrs. Auta said.
She called on political parties and other key players in Nigerian politics to ensure that persons with disabilities are allowed to partake.
She also called on persons with disabilities, especially women, to get involved in active politics by joining political parties and fully participating in all party activities.
“And I recommend that PWD should join political parties and be involved actively in every activity in that political party. Make sure you become a member, not just a member but, an active member. Make you contribute to the success of the political party. Make sure you attend meetings. Make sure you do everything that the party is doing. And that is the power of participation. Because if you do not participate, it will be difficult to represent,” she said.
She also said that the foundation would come up with an advocacy plan to advocate to stakeholders to implement the five per cent reservation for women with disabilities.
On the Reserved Seats Bill, Mrs. Auta said that seats should be reserved for women with disabilities to vote and be voted for.
Mrs. Auta used the opportunity to urge persons with disabilities to make use of the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration to register and obtain their Permanent Voter Registration Cards ahead of the 2027 general election.