Jake Epelle Plunks For Leadership Opportunities Amongst PWDs in Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of The Albino Foundation, Jake Epelle, has expressed his vision of seeing persons with disabilities (PWDs) reach various strata of leadership. Even to places as high as the Presidential seat. This is vital as every Nigerian should have the inalienable right to vote and be voted for regardless of his/her physical state. It is equally important to embrace this stance of fairness and inclusivity especially for PWDs.

In a recent interview, Mr. Epelle addressed the need for PWDs to be involved in elective and appointive offices in the country as they have pulled their weights in suffrage with initiatives like the Able2Vote and Able2Serve campaign during the 2023 Presidential elections.

He stated that they came up with a few project interventions which include serving the electoral management body and political parties. The initiatives were launched to foster electoral education among PWDs and bring them in close proximity with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Despite the slow progress of this vision, a few challenges still persist. This includes few ambiguous provisions in the law, shortage of assistive devices during elections and limited elective and appointive positions for PWDs. Epelle cries out to the Nigerian government to make this dream a reality whilst still giving credit to the European Union for their exemplary and impactful support in promoting such inclusivity.