By Diana Omueza
The Center for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), has advised the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to partner with the Federal Civil Service Commission in its recruitment, to ensure that it inclusive, open and transparent.
Mr David Anyaele, the Executive Director of the group gave the advice in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
Anyaele said that it was imperative for the commission to partner with the FCSC to ensure that no individual was left behind on the ground of disabilities.
The partnership is imperative to ensure that any recruitment by the commission is open, transparent and no qualified person is schemed out of the opportunity on the grounds of disabilities.
CCD is calling on the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities in collaboration with Federal Civil Service Commission and the Federal Character Commission to apply appropriate policy to ensure that no section of the country dominates the commission.
The NCPWDs should pursue approval for the recruitment of an all-inclusive member of staff to enhance its capacity and capabilities to discharge their mandate and mission.
It is imperative for the commission to collaborate with the federal civil service commission to ensure that every recruitment exercise is open, transparent and no qualified person with a disability is schemed out of the opportunity on the grounds of disability.
This is important because applicants with disabilities are painfully discriminated by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA) to the extent that citizens with disabilities have been picketing MDAs with a demand to offer them employment.
As such an agency that focuses on disability matters must ensure that qualified persons with disabilities have a greater majority in the staffing of the commission, he said.
Anyaele said that the advice was also based on the lopsided composition of the staff of the commission in which out of about 61 members staff, 48 were persons without disabilities, while only 13 were persons with disabilities and others were volunteers.
This disability unfriendly composition of the staff of the commission is unacceptable for an agency that is vested with the responsibilities for the education, health care, and the protection and promotion of the social, economic, and civil rights of citizens with disabilities in Nigeria.
We are mindful of the endemic politics of recruitment in the public service in Nigeria, whereby politicians, ministers, national assembly members, governors down to councilors use their proximity to the ruling party to gain employment.
The NCPWDs should be free from recruitment of none professionals as the commission is a specialist government agency that requires competent staff to deliver on its mandate, he said.
Anyaele said that many career professionals were within the disability community and suitable for employment and should first be considered in any recruitment by the commission.
He called on disability activists across the country to ensure that discrimination and other harmful practices against PWDs were brought to end in all spheres and across the country.
Anyaele also reiterated the commitment of CCD to continue to monitor trends in the polity to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities were protected against discrimination and other harmful practices. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Source: NAN News