By BONIFACE AKARAH

Disability rights advocates have raised concerns over the number of persons with disabilities registered to vote in Nigeria, citing an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) disclosure that only 232,658 persons with disabilities are registered out of an estimated 40 million.

The concern was raised in a legal petition dated October 7, 2026, addressed to the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), Chief Ayuba Burki Gufwan. The petitioners linked the low registration figure to what they described as a prolonged leadership crisis within the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities of Nigeria (JONAPWD-National).

They said the reported figure represented a major gap in political participation among persons with disabilities and demanded stronger institutional intervention.

“Furthermore, INEC's disclosure on October 6, 2026, that only 232,658 PWDs out of 40 million citizens are registered to vote highlights the catastrophic impact of JONAPWD's decadal leadership paralysis,” the petitioners said.

The petitioners, who identified themselves as surviving pioneers of the disability advocacy movement, said they had spent more than 27 years campaigning for institutions and legal protections for persons with disabilities.

They said their efforts contributed to the establishment of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and JONAPWD-National.

“As the surviving Pioneers who self-funded 27+ years of advocacy to establish the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 (DAPDA 2018), and Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities of Nigeria (JONAPWD-National and the entire Grassroots of Nigeria's 36 States/FCT and 774 LGAs), we demand that our intellectual property and institutional legacy be protected,” they said.

The petitioners argued that the leadership dispute within JONAPWD had implications for the wider disability community, particularly its representation and participation in national affairs.

They urged the NCPD to intervene in what they described as a prolonged corporate governance crisis and to suspend activities they considered unauthorized.

“We urge your office to order an immediate suspension of all unauthorized JONAPWD proceedings, freeze compromised bank accounts, and constitute the requested Emergency Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Hon. Justice Ayade E. Ayade,” the petitioners said.

They proposed that the emergency panel include Hon. Justice Ayade E. Ayade, disabled judicial officers, their pro bono lawyers and integrity-tested law enforcement personnel.

The petitioners also called for protection of what they described as the intellectual property and institutional legacy of the pioneers of the disability rights movement.

They said the intervention was necessary to protect the interests of persons with disabilities across Nigeria's 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and 774 Local Government Areas.

The petition was signed by Lady Omotunde Ellen Thompson, Co-Founder and Life Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of JONAPWD-National and leader of the Pioneer's Ad Hoc Consortium; Chief Eric Ndubueze Ufom, President/CEO of Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International; and Brigadier General Dr. Lonsdale Oladeji Adeoye (Rtd.), President of the Foundation for the Support of Nigerian Veterans and leader of the Pioneer's Ad Hoc Consortium.