The House of Representatives Committee on Disability has revealed that the process to re-enact the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) Act was already ongoing.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Bashiru Dawodu made this known on Monday in Abuja at the inaugural meeting of the committee.
He said there was a huge lacuna in the PWDs Act, saying amendments alone would not address all the challenges.
The lawmaker noted that the Child’s Right Act needed to be amended to include the concerns raised by the community.
Dawodu stated: “I want to announce to you that the process to re-enact the PWD Act is already ongoing in the house. The input of stakeholders will be collated at the public hearing; the committee will ensure full enforcement of PWDs Act, the law of the land must be implemented.
“We will ensure that any employment made in this country, five percent must be reserved for PWDs,” he said.
The lawmaker revealed that the Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has approved the use of sign language in the chambers for effective communications with PWD.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Women and Girls with Albinism Network, Ms. Constance Onyemeachi, said that children with albinism are first targets for rape and child trafficking.
She said this was because of the myths and superstition surrounding albinism as a genetic condition, adding that there are some places in Abuja she cannot enter because of her skin condition.
“There is a child with albinism I met in an orphanage in Kuje Area Council whose parents are still alive but the community wanted to kill the child and the parents had to send her to the orphanage.
“She cannot go home, not because her parents are dead, she is seen as a taboo and cannot grow up in her community like any other child just because she was born with albinism.”
Onyemeachi said that children with albinism have difficulties going to school as they face a series of challenges in classrooms, seeing the board, and sometimes abuse from teachers and other children.
She recommended special school uniforms and sportswear for children with albinism to enable them participate actively in school activities without getting burnt.