Disability commission to release standard for buildings

The National Commission for Persons with Disability has disclosed plans to create a minimum standard for a building to be declared fit for access to Persons With Disabilities (PWD).

The Executive Secretary of the commission, James David Lalu, during a workshop on “Developing the Minimum Accessibility Standard” organised by the  commission in partnership with Sightsavers, said the document on accessibility standards was to be complied with to ensure facilities were accessible for PWDs.

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Mr Lalu, while stating that there was an existing national building code in Nigeria, noted that it lacked the accessibility component, hence the need to develop a new manual that was inclusive to all.

He said, “Our aim today is to develop a minimum accessibility standard which has the guiding measurement for all physical buildings to adopt, and this is in line with our mandate as a commission set up by the president.”

He stressed that the minimum accessibility standard came with an accessibility audit checklist in which companies could use for self-assessment prior to when the commission would commence enforcement.