Polls: Foundation tasks security agencies on PWDs’ voting priority rights

The Albino Foundation (TAF-Africa), has appealed to security agencies to help persons with albinism and other Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) to enjoy their voting priority rights during the forthcoming general elections. The Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jake Epelle, made the plea “Inter-Security Agencies Training on Disability inclusive Election Security” organised by TAF Africa and European Union (EU) on Thursday in Abuja. Epelle also urged security personnel to ensure that PWDs were adequately protected to exercise their franchise during the polls as provided for in the 2022 Electoral Act. He recalled that during the Ekiti governorship election some persons with albinism were reportedly scared away by some security personnel. Epelle said: ” So, they could not exercise their franchise, because they were not aware that persons with albinism were part of the disability community. “We don’t want that to happen and that is why we decided to bring everybody into this training. “You are the one that will deploy most of your officers to various polling units. It is important that you know that we the community of PWDs are counting on you for us to get involved in the electoral process and exercise our franchise. “We will depend on you to protect us, to guide us and to tell the people in polling units that we have priority voting right. “In other words, when there are queues, we don’t need to stand in the queues. It is in the Electoral Act. You are empowered by law to carry out this mandate.” Epelle said that the training was key to election security planning. In his keynote address, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission had made adequate arrangements for the successful inclusion of PWDs in the elections. Yakubu, represented by a National Commissioner, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, said according to the National Population Commission (NPC), there were at least 19 million Nigerians living with disabilities, who are major democratic demography and have strong electoral strength. Yakubu that INEC understood