PWDs In Edo Are Dying Under Pains Of Fuel Subsidy Removal – NAPVID

The Executive Director, Network for the Advancement of People With Visible Disabilities (NAPVID) and convener, Edo Disability Forum (EDF), Melody Omosah, has said over 675,000 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in Edo State are going through hard times following the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.
Omosah stated this in Benin while speaking at a forum on the impact of fuel subsidy removal. He spoke on the topic, “Mitigating the impact of fuel subsidy on persons with Disabilities: The need for inclusive and functional social protection mechanism.”
He said the 675,000 persons were recorded in 2019,which meant that the number could now be higher. He called on the stakeholders and governments at all levels to address the situations as soon as possible.
“Currently, the estimated 675,000 PWDs in Edo State (2019 data) are groaning under the weight of the removal of subsidy on fuel by the Nigeria government, as no functional social protection mechanism has been specifically put in place to ensure their survival.
“Sadly, this has further increased their vulnerability, leading to an endless cycle of poverty and disability,” Omosah said.
He said PWDs are three times more disadvantaged and disproportionately affected by the fuel subsidy removal adding that it was fostering inequality against PWDs and further limiting their inclusivity and opportunities.
NAPVID boss said that recently, NAPVID, under the “Resilient Net: Empowering Inclusivity and Adaptability in Emergency” project conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGD), among disability clusters across the three senatorial districts of Edo State, and administered 20 questionnaires to PWD households in each of the three senatorial districts in Edo State, to ascertain first hand the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on the lives and livelihood of Persons with Disabilities.
He said also that Key Informant Interviews (KIl) were carried out among senior officials in ministries, departments and agencies, to find out the programme of government for PWDs Post Fuel Subsidy Removal.
Omosah posited that statistics from the survey, reveal that 100 percent of persons with disabilities have encountered increased financial strain post-subsidy removal.
He said personal stories underline the daily struggles faced from inaccessible and unaffordable transportation, social exclusion to compromised healthcare, adding that studies also indicate a direct correlation between subsidy removal and a decline in overall well-being for this class of people.
He said that PWDs describe the current economic situation occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal, as alarming, critical, unbearable, suffocating and frustrating.
He said 100 percent of the participants agreed that staying at home without hope for the next meal has increased the feeling of loneliness, overthinking and depression. Some of the participants said that they even entertain suicidal thoughts.
He called for concerted efforts from the state and the federal governments to urgently address the following: healthcare access, implement inclusive employment policies, vocational training programmes, and interest-free business grants for the PWDs to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal on them.
He further stressed, “findings from the surveys made it imperative for leading organisations of Persons with Disabilities, under the aegis of ‘Edo Disability Forum’ (EDF), to hold strategic meetings, to assess the situation and recommend to Edo State Government, appropriate measures to be put in place to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on Persons with Disabilities and to protect them in emergency.
“Therefore, the EDF intends to engage the highest echelon of Edo State Government to recommend immediate and sustainable measures that should be put in place to ameliorate the plights of PWDs and guarantee their survival in the aftermath of the subsidy removal.”
In her contribution, the President of Congos, Mrs. Abiola Igaga, said persons living with disabilities have the right to enjoy what other Nigerians are enjoying.
She therefore appealed to the stakeholders, media and government at all levels to ensure that persons living with disabilities benefit from what other Nigerians are benefiting.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Festus Alenkhe, represented by the Secretary, Comrade Andy Egbon assured PWDs that their demands and requests will be disseminated to the appropriate authorities.
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu during his inaugural speech on May 29th, announced the removal of fuel subsidy, which has made life unbearable for the entire Nigerians.