By Salami Abdulrahaman
Project Enable Africa, in collaboration with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Humanitarian and Poverty Reduction have launched Nigeria’s first-ever State of Disability Inclusion Report (SDIR) 2024, in Abuja, today July 25, 2025.
The event which took place at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, the Executive Director of Project Enable Africa, Mr. Olalekan Owonikoko said that the report is a landmark assessment of disability rights implementation across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“It was developed through stakeholder consultations, key interviews with persons with disabilities across the country,” Owonikoko noted.
In his keynote address, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Hon. Mohammed Abba Isa, commended the efforts of Project Enable Africa in producing a timely, evidence-based report. He emphasised that the SDIR is not just a record of progress but a call to action. He reaffirmed his office’s commitment to working with stakeholders to advance inclusion nationwide.
In his remark, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), who was represented by Barrister Nkem Uchegbulam, pledged that the commission will, along with the SDIR document, send a memo to relevant ministries and state governments to clarify how the report’s findings relate to their mandates.
Representing the board members of the Project Enable Africa, Dr. Kola Olugbodi, in his opening remark at the launching, said that since the Disability Act was passed in 2019, a five-year grace period was given for full compliance. He stressed that, “This report helps us assess how far we have come, looking at accessibility, employment, and inclusion of persons with disabilities. It is not just a document; it’s a wake-up call.”
While giving an overview of the report Dr. Adebukola Adebayo, who coordinated the preparation of the report highlighted that only 23 states have disability laws; just 15 have operational agencies. He said that “Despite national progress in advancing disability inclusion, we still have significant barriers and gaps between the national disability law and its implementation.”
According to the Execitive Director, Project Enable Africa, Olalekan Owonikoko, this report is part of the Disability Inclusion Metric Project (DIMP) funded by the Nigerian Youth Futures Fund, and it came in at a critical juncture, marking the end of the five-year transitional period stipulated by the National Disability Act passed in 2019.
He added that Project Enable Africa, is on a mission to promote the rights, empowerment and social inclusion of persons with disabilities is committed to ensure the report does not remain a mere document but translates into tangible results and meaningful action.