The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran received an advocacy team from TAF Africa Foundation led by its CEO/Founder Jake Epelle and some members of its management staff to discuss areas of partnership to advance the adoption of pwd-focused data gathering exercises, that will help in addressing challenges faced by Persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
At the visit, Jake Epelle commended the bureau for being proactive in their service delivery and appealed to the Statistician General of the Federation for synergy between both organizations that will aid funding from development partners on strategic socio-economic data for persons with disabilities in Nigeria. He offered a capacity-building opportunity to members of staff from the Bureau for Washington Group of Questions (WGQ) methodology on disability statistics. Jake Epelle also appealed to the Statistician-General on the need to have persons with disabilities as members of his workforce based on their qualifications and capacity.
In response, the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics said that the bureau already commenced plans to make its structure more adaptable and accessible for the community of persons with disabilities. He expressed willingness to make available existing data on persons with disabilities to TAF Africa and provide collaborative support.
A committee was formed constituting both parties to enable them to work together and develop a proposal that will be presented to donors on a strategic survey to gather the disaggregated data of persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
Other short-term engagements include the conduct of an accessibility survey of the Headquarters of the National Bureau of Statistics, Abuja. The survey will assist the Bureau in meeting up to the accessibility requirements provided in the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, and the UNCRPD.
ADVANCING GOVERNANCE THROUGH THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
As the call for disability inclusion grows for a more democratic and progressive government, development experts and disability inclusion advocates have explained why people with