PERMANENT Secretary in Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya, has said Persons with Disabilities (PDW) are critical in the electoral process.
He spoke at the voter education workshop for PDW: Inclusive election – A tool to combat voter apathy, at LASIEC headquarters in Lagos.
Onasanya said the workshop would encourage increased participation and change perception about PWDs…”
He said: “There could be no appropriate time for this than now, with election around the corner. Sadly, rising voter apathy is of concern to us. Apart from affecting credibility of elections, it poses a challenge to governance
‘’If we have been complaining about voter apathy and low voter turnout, I think we also need to meet with the critical stakeholders…
‘’We have 25 million living with disability, that is a key voting population and it is important we sensitise them that they have the right to vote and determine their leaders.”
“In the previous elections, our people were disenfranchised becausae you have to take a very long distance to get your polling unit and I think that has been addressed. There are still people who still find it difficult to access their polling units. I electoral commissions to look into it, if that area can also be addressed, I’m sure many of our people will fully participate in the election,” Adeniyi said.