The All-Rights Foundation Africa has urged political parties and stakeholders to ensure inclusive participation of Persons With Disabilities in the 2027 elections by supporting them as candidates rather than merely voters.
Founder of TAF Africa, Jake Epelle, made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Able2Run Electability Campaign supported by the European Union.
Epelle said Nigeria’s democracy would remain incomplete until persons with disabilities secured representation at decision-making levels across political parties, elective offices and governance institutions throughout the country.
“We want elections where the winner will actually win, elections devoid of insecurity and vote-buying, elections the international community can truly describe as democratic,” Epelle said.
He emphasised that disability inclusion should go beyond voting rights to active political participation, while challenging political parties to create opportunities for persons with disabilities seeking elective positions nationwide.
“Tell me one manifesto that gives persons with disabilities opportunities to compete for elected positions. We must start with democracy within political parties themselves,” Epelle said.
Epelle criticised tokenism in disability representation, insisting that disability desk officers within political parties and institutions should themselves be persons living with disabilities to ensure meaningful and authentic representation nationwide.
According to him, the Able2Run Campaign aims to deepen conversations on disability inclusion while confronting stereotypes that wrongly equate disability with inability in leadership and governance across the country.
“Disability is not incapacity. The real barriers are structural and societal obstacles limiting participation. Across history, disability has never diminished leadership capacity,” Epelle said.
Epelle commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for promoting inclusion frameworks while urging Nigerians and democratic institutions to collectively strengthen political participation opportunities for persons with disabilities nationwide.
Also speaking, Esrom Ajanya described persons with disabilities as a significant political constituency capable of shaping electoral outcomes if properly mobilised before future elections nationwide.
Ajanya said the World Health Organization had estimated that about 16 per cent of the global population lives with one disability or another, adding that this represents substantial electoral influence worldwide and in Nigeria
“Applying this estimate to Nigeria’s population means there are about 34.9 million PWDs, representing a powerful electoral force,” Ajanya said.
Ajanya lamented what he described as alarming political exclusion of persons with disabilities in spite of constitutional protections and legal frameworks guaranteeing equal participation in governance and democratic processes across Nigeria.
He cited TAF Africa studies conducted between 2019 and 2025 showing fewer than four elected persons with disabilities currently occupied elective positions across all government levels in Nigeria nationwide.
“This represents less than 0.1 per cent of elective positions in Nigeria. More disturbing is that none were women with disabilities,” Ajanya said.
Ajanya added that more than 99 per cent of political positions occupied by persons with disabilities were appointive rather than elective, raising concerns about tokenism and weak democratic representation across governance institutions nationwide.
He said that only 116 persons with disabilities contested elective offices nationwide between 2019 and 2025, in spite of constitutional guarantees and increasing calls for inclusive political participation across Nigeria’s democratic landscape.
“Political power is rarely handed over voluntarily. It is contested, negotiated and earned.
“The time has come for persons with disabilities to move from political margins to leadership,” Ajanya said.
Ajanya identified inaccessible polling units, discriminatory attitudes, poverty and exclusion within political parties as major barriers confronting persons with disabilities seeking active participation in Nigeria’s electoral and governance processes nationwide.
He further alleged that fewer than 100,000 registered voters currently had disability data captured by INEC, describing the figure as gross underrepresentation requiring urgent institutional and electoral reforms across Nigeria.
“Political parties must adopt deliberate disability inclusion policies, affirmative action measures and disability quotas for elective and appointive positions,” Ajanya said.
Ajanya disclosed that TAF Africa had opened a free national mentorship and coaching programme for aspiring politicians with disabilities across Nigeria under the EU-Support to Democratic Governance Programme initiative.
According to him, the initiative would establish political incubation hubs across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones while mentoring at least 180 aspiring politicians with disabilities in leadership and campaign management nationwide.
“This programme is completely free. What is required is commitment, courage and the determination to lead,” Ajanya said while encouraging persons with disabilities to participate actively in politics and governance nationwide.
He urged Nigerians, religious leaders, traditional rulers, civil society organisations and the media to champion disability-inclusive democracy and support greater political representation for persons with disabilities across the country.
