The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) has estimated that about 35 million Nigerians are living with disabilities, with Kano and Lagos states recording the highest numbers in the country.

The figures were unveiled yesterday in Abuja during a media briefing organised by JONAPWD for the public presentation of its assumptive disability disaggregated data, a report aimed at providing a clearer demographic picture of persons with disabilities across Nigeria.

According to the data, Kano State has the largest estimated population of persons with disabilities at about 2.5 million, followed by Lagos State with approximately 2.1 million.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Mohammed Abba Isa, who spoke at the event, described the report as a major step toward addressing the long-standing challenge of inadequate and fragmented data on persons with disabilities in the country.

Isa said that the absence of credible statistics had, for years, made it difficult for policymakers and development partners to design effective programmes and interventions targeted at persons with disabilities.

He noted that the new dataset provides a structured and disaggregated overview of the disability community across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which will support evidence-based planning and policy formulation.

Isa commended JONAPWD for initiating the study, describing it as a critical resource for government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and researchers working to advance disability inclusion in Nigeria.

He added that the administration of President Bola Tinubu remains committed to strengthening inclusive policies and programmes through reliable data and improved institutional capacity under its Renewed Hope Agenda.

Also speaking, National President of JONAPWD, Abdullahi Usman, explained that the estimate was derived using internationally recognised benchmarks, which assume that persons with disabilities make up about 15 per cent of any country’s population.

Usman added that the figures were further refined through consultations with leaders of disability clusters and organisations of persons with disabilities across the country.

He noted that JONAPWD would continue to collaborate with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and other stakeholders to improve the data and ensure a more robust national database in the future.

He, therefore, called on government agencies, development partners and civil society organisations to utilise the data in designing inclusive programmes and policies that would address the needs of persons with disabilities across the country.