LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
admin The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) has presented work tools and assistive devices to about 50 civil servants with disabilities.
It also gave out N1.1 each to 11 persons to get prosthetics towards enhancing their independence and productivity.
General Manager of LASODA Mrs. Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal, at the presentation, said the initiative, the first of its kind, is to empower, advance inclusion and increase accessibility for persons with disabilities, especially those employed by the state government.
Mrs. Oyetunde-Lawal noted that in the past years, the agency received multiple requests from civil servants with disabilities seeking work tools to enable them carry out their responsibilities, ‘and this presentation is activating this vision for them’.
She added: “Today, we are presenting 23 laptops, nine laptops with speech-assisted software (Freedom Scientific Version 2024) for our visually-impaired persons, calipers and motorized wheelchairs. We also have some home representatives that are here, they are picking up assistive devices and tools for the children with them.
“These work tools are more than just equipments, they are enablers of efficiency, confidence, and dignity. With these tools, our colleagues with disabilities will not only perform their tasks with ease, but will also contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of Lagos State. It is also a way of upholding the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities, as enshrined in the Lagos State Special People’s Law (2011).
“Lagos State still remains a higher employer of PWDs in the nation, and our responsibility is to continue to provide assistive devices and every form of assistance to PWDs in the state, championing it across the nation and hopefully across Africa.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Oke-Osanyintolu, said the initiative is in fulfilment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s social inclusion agenda that provides for all individuals with special needs.
“The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration is working assiduously to ensure that those with physical challenges are catered for in all ramifications, and the agency has not stopped working to address all their needs to ensure their comfort. The work tools and assistive devices they are getting today are being used to test the waters for the next set of people, and this must reflect in the service delivery that will improve productivity to the people of Lagos.”
Mrs. Oke-Osanyintolu noted that accessing public infrastructure for PWDs has been the discussion, and the government will start with civil servants, and also extend the support to individuals and groups taking care of children with special needs in the state.
Some of the participants thanked Governor Sanwo-Olu and LASODA for the opportunity to upscale their skills. They also promised to consistently use the tools to improve their working conditions, enhance knowledge and be more effective and independent as they discharge their civil duties.
