PWDs lament unfair treatment at airports
•Demand seamless access, facilities
By Blessing Oziwo
Persons Living With Disabilities (PWDs) have demanded increased access at airport terminals in Nigeria, calling on airport and airline operators to make provisions for equipment, personnel and infrastructure that will guarantee a seamless travel experience for them.
PWDs made the call when the Coalition for Disability Organisations (CODO) held a sensitisation programme for the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and other airport-related agencies in Lagos.
CODO had flagged off an advocacy project seeking to address discrimination faced by persons with disabilities at Nigerian airports.
A paper presentation was made during the event with the title, ‘A Public Presentation of Research Findings on Access to Airports for Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria.’
The Convener of CODO/ Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disability, Mr David Anyaele stated that the PWDs travelling by air are often faced with a lack of amenities such as ramps for persons in wheelchairs, inaccessibility to restrooms at some airports, and in some cases denied the chance to fly.
According to him, the sensitisation programme was to draw the attention of stakeholders to the inability of the PWDs to access airports and services in the nation.
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On his part, the Director, Spinal Cord Injury Association in Nigeria, Mr Abdulwahab Matepo, said it is important to highlight the challenges of the PWDs with stakeholders such as the Federal Government, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), among others.
He emphasised that the goal of the event was to remove all barriers preventing the PWDs from accessing airport services like others who do not have their challenges.
Also, a professor of Sociology, Soyombo Omololu, who spoke at the event, said the PWDs were constantly lamenting the unfair and inhumane treatments they were being subjected to at airports; a situation, he said, had forced many of them to resort to other means of transport.
While responding, the Managing Director of FAAN, Capt Rabiu Yadudu, who was represented by the agency’s International Terminal Manager, Mr Ayinla Gbolahan, assured stakeholders that the grievances raised by the PWDs would get to the appropriate authorities.
“I can assure you that this report will be taken back to the heads of FAAN, NCAA, and others. Plans are being made to put amenities in place for Persons with Disabilities,” he said.
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