The Chairman of the Kano State Initiative for Persons with Special Needs, Abdurraq Zango, said high nomination fees set by political parties prevented people with disabilities from contesting the 2027 general elections.
Zango said in an interview with journalists on Tuesday in Kano that people with special needs have the interest, wisdom, and capacity to contest elections, win, and contribute to Nigeria’s development, but they lack financial resources.
The Chairman explained that their leadership potential deserves greater recognition and opportunities to enable them to participate in politics and decision-making.
Zango, however, claimed that most political parties did not provide a platform for persons with special needs during primary elections and appointments.
He said the cost of nomination forms and other financial requirements fixed by the parties discouraged prospective candidates with special needs from seeking elective positions.
Zango said the country’s laws provided for the inclusion of persons with special needs in health, education, agriculture, employment and other sectors.
According to him, implementation of the laws remained inadequate; hence, the need to reverse the trend.
He cited the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, which provides that public organisations should “as much as possible, have persons with disabilities constituting at least five per cent of their workforce”.
The chairman said Kano’s Persons with Disabilities Law, enacted in 2022, provides for the allocation of two per cent of employment opportunities to persons with disabilities.
Zango said the provisions were not being adequately implemented and needed to cover elective positions.
He said some states, including Kano, had appointed special assistants to represent the interests of persons with special needs.
Zango called for more measures to address the financial and institutional barriers preventing persons with special needs from participating fully in elections.