Okpebholo explains delay in funding new disability commission
Inclusivity/Gender
Benin, Edo – The Edo state governor, Monday Okpebholo has attributed the initial lack of adequate funding for the newly established Edo State Commission for Persons with Disabilities to the fact that the commission was created after the 2025 budget had already been passed.
The governor disclosed this last Friday during the annual “Rights Above Charity” lecture held in Benin City, the state capital.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Musa Ikhilor, Governor Okpebholo said: “As at the time we established this commission, the 2025 budget had been passed, because it wasn’t our budget and no provision was made for it. We did some support from special intervention for the commission until later in the year when we were able to pass a supplementary budget, where the governor graciously approved the provision of N60,000,000 for the commission as a take-off grant.”
The N60,000,000 was described as initial seed funding to enable the commission begin operations pending more robust budgetary allocation in subsequent fiscal years.
The event, themed “From Establishment to Effectiveness: Making Inclusion the Heartbeat of Governance in Edo State,” was jointly organised by the Network for the Advancement of Persons with Visible Disabilities (NAPVID), the Edo State Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD).
Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of NAPVID expressed profound gratitude to Governor Okpebholo for fulfilling a long-standing demand by establishing the commission.
He, however, urged the administration to go beyond establishment and fully empower the body.
“Mr. Governor, we are not just very grateful to you for establishing the commission; we are confident that you will empower the commission, strengthen and resource it. A commission without adequate tools cannot drive implementation of the Edo State Persons with Disability Law,” he said.
Other speakers at the well-attended lecture included, Mr. Theophilus Egbodion, Chairman of the Edo State Commission for Persons with Disabilities; Ms. Ann Ojugo, Edo State Chairperson of JONAPWD; Prof. Ngozi Unuigbe of the University of Benin, who delivered the keynote address.
Participants called for sustained political will, adequate budgetary provision, and strict enforcement of the state’s disability law to ensure genuine inclusion of persons with disabilities in all spheres of governance and development in Edo State.
The establishment of the commission and the promise of future funding have been widely welcomed by disability rights advocates, who described it as a significant step toward aligning Edo State with the national Disability Act and global best practices on inclusion.
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