ENUGU — The Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Edward Ubosi has referred the Disability bill to four committees of the House to deliberate on and organize a Public Hearing; the committee on Education, Health, Gender Affairs and Judiciary were assigned the task and given two weeks to report findings to the general House.
Scaling through the second reading on the floor of the Hallowed Chamber, the bill for a law to provide for the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society, establish the Enugu State persons with disabilities for their education, healthcare, social, economic, and civil rights, and for connected purposes bill (HB 4), 2022 generated some concerns as regards its implementation.
Responding to the Leader, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu’s call to members to support the disability bill’s speedy passage into law as it is not contentious in his opinion, some members objected calling for careful deliberation and corrections on the bill before passage.
Iloabuchi Aniagu, a member representing Nkanu West constituency pinpointed the lack of basic social amenities in the state and nation at large as a deterrent to full implementation of the bill, especially as regards sections 11, 12, and 13.
“In Enugu state and Nigeria, our public transport is far from that obtainable in the western world; here we use tricycles popularly known as Keke and buses which are privately owned and have no features that will accommodate the tenets of the bill.”
“Passing the bill into law is easy but we must intentionally study and make necessary adjustments to reflect the peculiarities of our present state as a state and nation; the bill is a good one but contentious as regards its implementation,” Aniagu posited.
Allaying the fears of some members who raised the issue of 10 years transition window as regarding implementation of the law, the Speaker responded, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.”
“Amending existing structures to provide accessible facilities for the disabled and special needs persons as stipulated on the bill may be challenging but doable, hence the transition period.”
“As of new structures, with effective monitoring by appropriate Agency assigned to monitor and/or approve building plans, these facilities will be provided for,” the Speaker, Edward Ubosi said.
Referring the bill to the committees, the House adjourned to reconvene on Thursday, 3rd November 2022.
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