The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has deployed 84 assistive Information Technology projects at different locations in the country to support people with special needs while also supporting policies that enable disadvantaged members of the society to live a more qualitative life.
The E-Accessibility project seeks to meet the ICT needs of persons living with disabilities in Nigeria by providing ICT tools, assistive technologies, training, and Internet provision in the identified locations between 2012 to 2020.
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, gave this figure when he received a delegation from National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) in audience during the team’s courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
The EVC, represented by the commission’s Director, Human Capital and Administration, Usman Malah, while receiving the NCPWD team led by its Executive Secretary, James Lalu, restated the commission’s commitment to continually support people with special needs across the country.
He recalled that the commission had always implemented initiatives aimed at ensuring digital inclusivity for all Nigerians regardless of their circumstances.
Danbatta said telecoms sector had become the backbone of the national economy with remarkable growth from 400,000 telephone lines when the sectoral deregulation started in 2000 to over 208 million active telephone lines now while active Internet subscription also rose to 156 million in the last two decades.
The EVC further explained that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 18.44 percent at the end of Q2 2022 as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
While maintaining that the NCC has continue to ensure quality of service delivery to the consumers and digital inclusion for all, Danbatta said the NCC aligned its activities with the noble objectives of the NCPWD as provided for in the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act of 2018.
According to him, in addition to implementing the five percent inclusiveness of persons with disabilities in NCC’s staffing efforts in accordance with the law, the telecom regulator, through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), has executed many projects within the framework of its E-Accessibility Programme in last 10 years that targets the challenged members of the society.
The EVC explained: “In other words, the project provides ICT tools and Assistive Technologies (ATs) to the blind, the deaf, dumb, crippled, cognitively impaired, and other categories of people living with disabilities. As disadvantaged members of society, the project is designed to assist in improving the quality of life of people living with disability.”
In his remarks during the visit, the NCPWD’s Executive Secretary said the purpose of the team’s visit was to keep the NCC management abreast of its mandates and activities and seek greater collaborations with the commission for the benefits of estimated 35.5 million persons with disabilities in the country.
He commended the NCC for the “wonderful work it has been doing through various projects in support of people with disabilities in the country.”
Lalu also appealed to the NCC to help in creating awareness among telecoms service providers to comply with the legal requirement to dedicate five per cent of their employment quota to persons with disabilities. He said this category of Nigerians are ‘smart, professional and intelligent’ and can make significant contribution to the growth of the respective organizations employing them, despite their disabilities.
This is even as he also appealed to the NCC to help in creating awareness among telecoms service providers to comply with the legal requirement to dedicate five percent of their employment quota to persons with disabilities.
He expatiated: “What we want to achieve is to make Nigeria a country that is comfortable for PLWD by ending discrimination and providing adequate reporting system and we have seen NCC as a strategic and important partner in this journey.”
The NCPWD was established, pursuant to section 31 of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act 2018, to promote, protect and prioritise the rights of persons with disabilities, and to further enhance their productivity through education, health, and other socio-economic activities and programmes.
