The Joint National Association of Persons With Disability (JONAPWD) has called on the Cross River State governor, Senator Bassey Out, to intervene in the crisis rocking the association.
The group made this known in a press briefing in Calabar on the steps needed to engander peace in JONAPWD, Cross River State chapter.
In addition, the association called on the governor’s wife to use her office to intervene as a last resort in case a Congress at the instance of the state police commissioner fails to resolve the issues.
Professor Jacob Agba, the caretaker committee chairman of the association and his secretary Marbel Ekpang, disclosed this in a statement jointly signed by them.
They demanded that “the peace initiative of the Commissioner of Police already acceptable to all sides should be allowed to go ahead as planned: while Her Excellency could intervene as the last resort should the congress at the instance of the Commissioner of Police fails to resolve the issues.
“That Her Excellency, should use her auspices to advise the Ministry of Social Welfare and Community Development to stop taking sides in matters of’ disagreement in JONAPWD internal wrangling. This is because many members of JONAPWD believe that it has been this posture that has failed to bring about any acceptable resolution to the problems in JONAPWD in the state, over the past two years.
“The ministry’s policy of promoting injustice to one faction in a dispute and then calling for “Solemn Assemblies” to resolve internal wranglings in JONAPWD amounts to insulting the sensibilities of aggrieved PWD’s.
“Governments at all levels in the country in general and Cross River State should initiate the policy that will encourage PWDs seeking political appointments to utilise special person(s) in their political parties in which they belong to lobby for appointments instead of using JONAPWD and the Ministry of Social Welfare and Community Development as it is the case at the moment in our state.
“The Governor, the state government, the wife to the Governor who often extends her hand of love to PWDs, the supervising ministries of Social Welfare and Community Development, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation as well as all well-meaning persons in the state should bring it to bear on JONAPWD members to follow their own constitution in running the affairs of their association instead of running the association as if it were their private property with any of the supervising ministries acting as the “policeman” to the association.
“The state government should insist that for lasting peace in JONAPWD all involved in the internal wrangling of JONAPWD in the state should accept the decision(s) of the General Congress of 31st January, 2024 or leave the association alone,” the association demanded.
