Chairman Of Anambra State Disability Rights Commission, Ezewuzie, Calls On Aviaton Minister To Implement Disability Rights Act
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Discrimination against Persons With Disabilities Prohibition Act 2018 says a person with disability shall not be discriminated against on the ground of his disability by any person or institution in any manner or circumstance.
This notwithstanding, there have been allegations against some domestic airlines in Nigeria that they discriminate against persons with disabilities through their services.
The Chairman, Anambra State Disability Rights Commission, Barrister Chukwuka Ezewuzie, who lamented the ill-treatment metted on him by one of such Airlines, owing to his state of low vision, called on the Minister of Aviation, Barrister Festus Keyamo to direct all Nigerian Airline operators to implement and abide by the rules of International Airlines Transport Association, IATA.
The IATA rule provides the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to have access to Air travel and to eliminate obstacles and barriers in transportation for persons with disabilities, PWDs.
Barrister Ezewuzie, at a press conference in Abuja, on behalf of 35 million Nigerians with disabilities who have fallen victims of discriminatory policies and practices by some Nigerian Airline operators in Nigeria, noted that Air travel should be accessible to all persons including persons with disabilities.
He gave a harrowing tale of how he was abandoned and denied boarding an aircraft going to Enugu 3 years ago, because he could not pay for additional fare for a companion, and has not been refunded for the said flight till date despite his petition to the House of Representatives committee on People Living With Disabilities, PWDs and testimony at the public hearing on Airline Discrimination against PWDs.
The Anambra State Disability Rights Commission’s Chairman made a list of recommendations for the aviation sector including a dedicated specialised ramp personnel to be trained and deployed to handle mobility aids guidance on how to properly resolve instances where mobility aids are damaged among others.
