Stakeholders have called for improved access to education, governance and essential services for persons with disabilities, stressing the need to remove communication barriers that hinder their participation in society.
They made the call at the 2026 International Youth Day National Summit for Deaf and Young Persons with Disabilities and Inclusive Future Excellence Awards, organised by the Abuja Association of the Deaf in Abuja.
The programme, which also marked Deaf Awareness Month, had as its theme, “Different Context, Common Aspiration: Advancing Disability Inclusion and Equal Opportunities with Sign Language.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Mohammed Abba Isa, represented by his Director of Media and Communications, Lanre Oloyede, urged persons with disabilities to become more actively involved in civic and political processes, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Isa said their participation should go beyond voting to having a voice in decisions that determine policies, budgets and programmes affecting their lives.
He said, “We cannot afford to remain spectators. Our voices matter. Our votes matter. Our future matters.”
According to him, political participation was important because government decisions directly influenced the programmes and opportunities available to citizens.
He therefore urged persons with disabilities to reject voter apathy, violence and intimidation and take an active role in determining the country's future.
The Director of Social Integration, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Lawrence Edelifo Idemudia, who represented the Executive Secretary of the commission, Ayuba Burki Gufwan, stressed the importance of Sign Language in enabling deaf persons to participate in education and other sectors.
Idemudia, who spoke from personal experience, said Sign Language had enabled him to progress through primary and secondary education, university and postgraduate studies despite being unable to hear.
He said, “How do you think I could have passed through primary, secondary, university up to master level without hearing or speaking the Sign Language, without participating?”
He described Sign Language as the language of the deaf community and stressed the need to preserve and promote it.
He said, “We all have a language. That is our language. We are not dead and we are not doomed.”
Idemudia also called for efforts to bridge the communication gap between deaf persons and the wider society, saying persons with disabilities should be empowered to advocate for themselves and participate in decisions affecting their lives.
On her part, Desk Officer for Persons with Disabilities, FCT Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Superintendent Corps Ojo Adeola, who represented the FCT Commandant, Dr Olushola Odumosu, also called for greater attention to the needs of persons with disabilities.
She highlighted the need for greater understanding of the communication needs of persons with disabilities, particularly deaf people, to ensure they are able to access services and participate fully in society.
The National President of the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf, Mallam Haruna Muhammad Tsafe, called for improved voter education and greater political participation among deaf persons.
Tsafe stressed the need to ensure that persons with disabilities understood their electoral rights, obtained their Permanent Voter Cards and were adequately informed about the voting process.
He also advocated greater recognition of the rights of deaf persons and improved access to opportunities in education and governance.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Abuja Association of the Deaf, Ayoade Beyioku-Alase, called for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in government and private-sector programmes.
He also advocated the use of Sign Language in television programmes and news broadcasts to ensure that deaf persons had access to information available to other members of society.
Beyioku-Alase said persons with disabilities should not only be remembered during elections, but should be recognised as equal citizens and included in decisions and programmes that affect them.
He said, “When it is time for election, they will ask all of us to come and vote, to come and exercise our rights.”
The stakeholders said sustained attention to communication accessibility, education, political participation and representation in governance would help remove barriers limiting persons with disabilities and advance the goal of equal opportunities.