Presidential election: Disable leader drums support for Buhari

Tom Okpe, Abuja

National disable leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Misbahu Didi, has urged disabled persons in the country to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election by voting him in the forthcoming Presidential election. He believes that the re-election of President Buhari for a second term would guarantee the implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 which had just been assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking on Sunday in Abuja in an interaction with some disabled persons, Didi expressed happiness for being part of the struggle for the actualisation of the Act which he said had lasted 17 years, saying past administrations could not achieve the feat. “On behalf of persons leaving with disability, we thank the reliable government of the APC, led by an honest and trustworthy man, President Muhammadu Buhari who has given us freedom”, he said. He commended all those who contributed to the success of the Act, saying it was a victory for all, especially the disabled expressing optimism that following the signing of the Bill into law by President Buhari, disabled persons in the country would massively vote for him in the coming election slated for Feb.16. According to Didi, a vote for President Buhari and all APC candidates at all levels, is a vote of confidence for the party to consolidate on its achievements and for a better Nigeria. The Act provides for a five-year transitional period within which public buildings, structures or automobile are to be modified to be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. It further provides that before erecting any public structure, its plan shall be scrutinised by the relevant authority to ensure that the plan conforms to the building code to accommodate disabled persons. According to the Act, an officer who approves or directs the approval of a building plan that contravenes the building code, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of at least N1, 000, 000 or a term of imprisonment of two years or both. Some disabled persons present commended the president for signing the Bill into Act, assuring that their vote in the Presidential election will go to him.