The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has been declared a ‘champion of the disability community in Nigeria’ by Hon. Ayuba Gufwan, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Commission for Persons Living with Disabilities.
Hon. Gufwan, who made this declaration during a working visit to Governor Otti on Thursday, commended the governor for his inclusive governance and particularly for establishing a commission for persons living with disabilities in the state.
“We are deeply appreciative that upon your assumption of office, you established the Abia State equivalent of the National Commission of Persons with Disabilities. I commend you and express the heartfelt appreciation of the 35 million persons living with disabilities in Nigeria. We say thank you for what you have done for us,” Gufwan said
The delegation, which came to Abia to request the establishment of a Southeast Zonal office for the commission, a facility they believe will improve accessibility for persons with disabilities in the region, highlighted Abia’s welcoming environment as the reason for their choice of the state.
“There is no place that is as hospitable to persons with disabilities in this region other than Abia State and that is why we are here. We are 35 million, and we don’t have an office anywhere other than the office in Abuja, so it is very difficult to administer this huge number from one location. So, people in the Southeastern part of Nigeria who need our services can just access our zonal office,” he noted.
In response, Governor Otti reiterated his administration’s commitment to inclusivity and non-discrimination. He emphasized that his government values merit and does not exclude individuals based on disabilities, gender, religion, or ethnicity.
“Our government is a government that does not discriminate against persons living with disabilities. We don’t discriminate against women, we don’t discriminate against people because of their religious beliefs or because of where they come from.
That is why we pride ourselves as the first state in recent times to appoint a Head of Service who is not from Abia nor the Southeast but is from the South-South. It is because we are focused on meritocracy without discrimination,” Otti stated.
Governor Otti also expressed his belief that disabilities do not define a person and pledged to provide the requested facility. On the spot, he approved the establishment of the Southeast Zonal office in Abia State.
“I want you to leave here convinced, knowing fully well that we have not only heard but we have approved it. As you leave here, my Special Assistant on Persons Living with Disabilities will liaise with the Director General of Umuahia Capital Development Authority and Commissioner for Lands and Housing to identify a befitting office for the Southeast Zone of the council.
So, I am sure that in the next two or three months, your office will relocate to that place, and you (Ayuba) will be invited back to be handed over to the Southeastern Zonal office.” the governor assured.