Ahead of the Ekiti State governorship election, The Albino Foundation (TAF Africa) has intensified efforts to promote the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the electoral process by training and deploying 150 election observers across the state to monitor their participation and assess compliance with disability-inclusive electoral guidelines.
The organisation said the initiative, supported by the European Union under the Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme, is aimed at ensuring that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their voting rights without discrimination or barriers at polling units.
Speaking during a training session for the observers in Ado-Ekiti, the Programme Manager of TAF Africa, Dr. Andrew Adaju, stressed that persons with disabilities are an integral part of society and should not be denied equal access to voting because of their physical conditions. He noted that the organisation is working closely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to guarantee inclusive participation during the election.
Adaju explained that the observers would be deployed to selected polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state, particularly locations with high numbers of registered voters with disabilities. According to him, the observers will assess polling unit accessibility, priority voting arrangements and the implementation of disability-friendly electoral guidelines.
He also disclosed that TAF Africa has introduced a digital reporting platform known as the TAF Disability Hub App, which will enable observers to submit real-time reports from the field. Describing the technology as the organisation’s “third eye,” he said only trained observers with the necessary technical skills would participate in the exercise.
Also speaking, the Assistant Programme Manager of TAF Africa, Mr. George Dominic Agway, said the organisation is moving beyond advocacy to accountability by evaluating whether previous collaborations with INEC have translated into meaningful inclusion for persons with disabilities. He reiterated the group’s commitment to the principle of “Nothing about us without us” and called for greater representation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of Nigeria’s democratic process.
