The President of the Association of Handicapped Persons Welfare, Mr Princewill David, has appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to intervene in the recovery of a parcel of land allegedly encroached upon during a road construction project in the Ikorodu area of the state.

David made the appeal during the association’s 33rd Excellence Awards and Anniversary celebration held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. He explained that the reclaimed land would serve as a creativity and vocational training centre for persons with disabilities.

“We appeal to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to assist us in re-allocating our land, which was encroached upon by the Lagos State government through the construction of a road at Ewu-Elepe, Ikorodu, for our proposed creativity vocational centre project,” he said.

The association, he added, has implemented several initiatives to empower persons with disabilities. “We have trained over 5,000 persons with disabilities since our inception in 1992 and created awareness, recognition, and honour for outstanding individuals with disabilities. We have also made progress in our borehole project by purchasing a pumping machine, two tanks, and scaffolding pipes for the water facility at our secretariat in Fadeyi,” he said.

David noted that the association still requires financial support to complete ongoing projects aimed at improving the welfare of its members.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the association, Pastor Chidi Nwankwo, stressed that matters concerning faith and community development should not exclude persons with disabilities. He said the group’s initiatives also focus on educating members against drug abuse and urged parents not to neglect children with disabilities.

Representing the General Manager of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), Mrs Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal, Mr Baruwa Adebodun reaffirmed that “there is ability in disability” and encouraged the association to report cases of gender-based violence.

An award recipient, Mrs Temitope Balogun, thanked the association for recognising her efforts and pledged to continue advocating disability awareness and inclusion.