By Ngozi Nwankwo
National Commission for Persons with Disabilities,NCPWD, has, in line with its mandate, commenced an accessibility audit of universities in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
It was recalled that NCPWD was at the Federal University Lafia to kick-start efforts aimed at enforcing the Disability (Accessibility) Regulations 2023.
The audit, led by the Director of the Accessibility Department, Mr. Bitrus Sule Dakup was aimed at assessing the university’s facilities and services to ensure they are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibrahim Hassan Ogiri, who received the audit team, commended the Commission for choosing FULafia as the first tertiary institution for the exercise.
Ogiri also acknowledged the Commission’s continued support and partnership, which began under the previous Vice-Chancellor.
The Head of the Centre for Disability Studies, Prof. Adaka, who also welcomed the team, pledged the institution’s support on matters relating to inclusion and wished the team a successful exercise.
Dakup on behalf of the Commission thanked the university management for providing an enabling environment for Persons with Disabilities and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to making public institutions disability-friendly in line with the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
