PWDs Must Share in Anambra’s Oil Benefits – Group Insists

By Praise Chinecherem

Care for the Physically Challenged and Destitute Foundation (CAPCADF) has described exclusion of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) from leadership structures in Anambra oil and gas host communities as violation of their fundamental rights.

Executive Director, Gloria Nwafor stated this in an advocacy brief to the Chairman, Anambra East Traditional Rulers Council and traditional ruler of Eziagulu-Otu, Igwe Lawrence Anakpulu Nwaofia.

She appealed to traditional rulers in Anambra East Local Government Area to amend community by-laws to guarantee inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in leadership positions and natural resources governance.

Nwafor, who is also a fellow of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development’s Intersectional Leadership Incubator (ILI), is currently implementing a project designed to strengthen the participation of PWDs in oil and gas host communities.

According to her, exclusion of PWDs from leadership positions, consultations, development councils, and compensation schemes undermines their fundamental rights and deepens inequality.

“Our old adage says: he who wears the shoes knows where it pinches. There should be nothing about us without us,” she said.

Nwafor noted that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 created the Host Communities Development Trust Fund, which requires oil and gas companies to contribute 3% of their annual operating expenditure to communities where they operate.

“With the inauguration of Anambra’s Host Communities Executives in May 2025, the state formally joined other oil-producing states to benefit from this fund.”

The Disability rights advocate, however, lamented that PWDs remain largely excluded from leadership and decision-making structures of Anambra East host communities, leaving them unable to access development opportunities tied to the fund.

“This exclusion is a violation of Nigeria’s Disability Act of 2018 and contradicts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), to which Nigeria is a signatory,” Nwafor stressed.

“Persons with disabilities bring unique perspectives and innovative contributions, particularly in equitable resource management and sustainability.”

As part of her ILI fellowship project, Nwafor is conducting capacity building for selected PWDs on advocacy, digital data collection, and the development of a Demands Charter.

“Using digital tools, trained PWDs are already collecting data across Anambra East communities to establish accurate records that will inform advocacy for inclusion.

She explained that challenges have slowed progress, including requests by town announcers for payment before mobilizing PWDs for data gathering.

“Despite this, some communities have been successfully covered, and the process continues.

“Once the data is analyzed, gaps will be identified, and strategies to address individual and collective needs will be designed.

“A training workshop will also be organized on advocacy skills, inclusion strategies, and the provisions of the PIA Trust Fund to empower PWDs to engage effectively with host community leadership.

Nwafor announced plans to hold a stakeholder engagement meeting where findings from the PWDs’ data will be presented, alongside a Demands Charter advocating their inclusion in the Host Communities Trust Fund.

She also revealed that the project will lead to the formation of a local watchdog group of PWDs to monitor implementation of the Charter and report progress or violations quarterly.

This mechanism, she said, will ensure accountability and sustained advocacy beyond the life of the project.

The CAPCADF director called on traditional rulers to lead by example by reviewing bylaws that currently exclude PWDs from leadership positions.

She also urged wealthy and philanthropic individuals in Anambra East to support education, vocational training, agriculture, and entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities.

“Development and sustainable peace in oil and gas host communities cannot be achieved without the full inclusion of persons with disabilities,” Nwafor emphasized.

“Strengthening their participation is not just a legal or moral obligation.

“It is a development imperative that ensures no one is left behind in the wealth and opportunities derived from our natural resources,” she concluded.