By BONIFACE AKARAH

Three disability rights advocates have asked Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, to intervene in the leadership crisis within the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD-National), demanding a halt to activities they described as unauthorised and an emergency campaign to improve voter registration among persons with disabilities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a memorandum dated October 8, 2026, and signed by Lady Omotunde Ellen Thompson, Chief Eric Ndubueze Ufom and Brigadier General Dr. Lonsdale Oladeji Adeoye (Rtd.), the petitioners urged the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), through the Nigerian National Volunteer Services and the Federal Ministry of Education, to issue an executive directive addressing the association’s governance and electoral disputes.

The petitioners cited figures they attributed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claiming that only 232,658 persons with disabilities were registered among Nigeria’s 103.43 million voters as of October 6, 2026. They described the figure as 0.23 per cent of the national voter register and contrasted it with their estimate of 40 million Nigerians living with disabilities.

According to the memorandum, the low figure reflects what the petitioners described as years of institutional failure within JONAPWD-National and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD).

They alleged that individuals operating under an unapproved and unfiled 2011 constitution had controlled the association’s activities between 2013 and 2026, weakening grassroots mobilisation and excluding many persons with disabilities from democratic participation.

The petitioners said they had spent more than 27 years advocating for disability rights and played key roles in the establishment of JONAPWD-National, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and the NCPD.

“We refuse to allow our intellectual property and institutional legacy to be destroyed by corporate impostors,” the memorandum stated.

Among their demands is an immediate administrative order halting what they described as unauthorised operations, public representations, bank transactions and national convention proceedings conducted in the name of JONAPWD-National by individuals they consider illegitimate leaders.

They also asked Akume to establish an emergency inter-agency oversight committee to investigate the association’s electoral and governance disputes from 2013 to 2026.

The proposed committee, they said, should be chaired by Justice Ayade E. Ayade, whom they identified as the judge who delivered a September 25, 2023, judgment in Suit No. HC/336/2022 concerning the disputed constitution. They also proposed the inclusion of a magistrate of the Anambra State Judiciary, their legal representatives and officials from relevant law enforcement agencies.

The petitioners further called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Auditor-General of the Federation to conduct a joint forensic audit of public funds, donor grants, microfinance disbursements and nomination fees allegedly collected by JONAPWD-National between 2008 and 2026.

“Direct the EFCC, ICPC, and Auditor-General of the Federation to execute a joint forensic audit of all public funds, donor grants, microfinance disbursements, and nomination fees collected under JONAPWD-National from 2008 to 2026,” the memorandum demanded.

On electoral inclusion, the advocates urged the government to direct INEC to conduct an accessible voter revalidation campaign across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas ahead of the 2027 elections.

They proposed using the Washington Group Questions, a set of questions designed to identify persons with disabilities, as part of the exercise.

The petitioners said the proposed intervention was necessary to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and resolve longstanding disputes over the association’s leadership and governance.

“We count on your prompt, forceful executive intervention to uphold the rule of law, protect 40 million vulnerable citizens, and safeguard our national democratic integrity,” they stated.

The memorandum was signed by Thompson, co-founder and life chairperson of JONAPWD-National’s Board of Trustees; Ufom, president and chief executive officer of Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International; and Adeoye, president of the Foundation for the Support of Nigerian Veterans.

The requested directives, committee, audit and voter revalidation campaign remain proposals contained in the petition; the document does not establish that the SGF or the named agencies have approved or implemented them.