From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
An appeal has gone to the All Progressives Congress to make nomination forms free for persons living with disabilities in the country who are wishing to contest the 2023 general elections on the platform of the party.
The Executive Secretary, Kogi State Office of the Disability, Zacchaeus Dare Michael, who made the appeal in a chat with Our Correspondent in Lokoja, praised the National Executive Committee of the Party for making the forms free for women wishing to contest.
He described the PLWD as more vulnerable in the society, saying one way to integrate them into the society was to make the nomination forms free for them.
He said that about 25 million persons in the country had one form of disability or the other, and that one key area of the law signed by the President, Major General Mohammadu Buhari (retd.) as regarding the PLWD law, was inclusiveness.
He described the PLWD as a segment of the society that had been neglected for too long, saying it would be difficult for them to purchase the party’s nomination forms in view of their vulnerability and financial limitation.
He wondered where such people would get the money to purchase the forms, adding that even though many of them were graduates and intelligent, raising the money would be a challenge.
He urged that the forms be made available for them to contest in whatever capacity they might want to, pointing out that in that way, they could be integrated into the society.
The Secretary described the PLWD as majority voters during elections, saying that it would encourage them to participate actively in political process.