The Centre for Infrastructural and Technological Advancement for the Blind (CITAB) has condemned the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) over its proposed introduction of specialized vehicle plate numbers for persons with disabilities, describing the initiative as a superficial, vehicle centric scheme that ignores the severe, everyday realities confronting the wider disability community.
This was contained in a press statement issued today in Lagos by Comrade Jolomi George Fenemigho, Executive Chairman of CITAB.
CITAB stated that at a time when countless disabled persons in Lagos remain unemployed, without access to free comprehensive healthcare, discounted housing programmes, or accessible public transportation, any attempt to parade specialized plate numbers as a flagship intervention is not only tone deaf but a grave misplacement of priorities. The organisation warned that such cosmetic initiatives risk turning disability policy into a public relations exercise for a privileged few, while the majority of persons with disabilities (PWDs) continue to battle poverty and exclusion.
Fenemigho noted that an agency created to defend disability rights must address systemic deprivation, not decorate it. He stressed that LASODA’s focus on plate numbers raises serious questions about whose interests are being served and why core issues like employment quotas, social protection, and transport accessibility remain largely untouched.
According to him, “In Lagos today, countless disabled individuals remain unemployed, without access to free comprehensive healthcare, discounted housing programs, or accessible public transportation,” Fenemigho stated. “Yet, LASODA considers a specialized plate number a priority. For an agency dedicated to disability rights, such a choice is a glaring dereliction of duty. It leaves one to question whose interests LASODA is truly serving and who is advising the agency on these matters.”
CITAB further highlighted the elitist nature of the initiative, noting that vehicle centric policies inherently exclude the vast majority of the disability community, who do not own private cars and rely daily on public transport.
He said, “LASODA seems to forget that a specialized plate number is of no consequence to a person with a disability who cannot even afford a three square meal, let alone a private car,” he emphasized. “When an agency that should champion inclusion instead designs benefits for a tiny, financially buoyant minority, it effectively sidelines the millions of PWDs who depend on danfos, BRTs, tricycles, and walking long distances just to survive. Policies must serve the entire disability community, not just a privileged few.”
The organisation also questioned the actual utility of such schemes, pointing out that symbolic badges and specialized plates accomplish very little without rigorous enforcement, public awareness, and accessible infrastructure. CITAB warned that, in the absence of structural change, such measures quickly become empty symbols, useful for photo ops but meaningless on the streets.
He said, “This is not the first time we’ve seen similar initiatives, like special badges, fail to make any meaningful difference because the society remains largely uninformed and key sectors are completely unaligned,” Fenemigho remarked. “When we don’t educate transport operators, law enforcement, and the general public, a custom plate number becomes nothing more than a cosmetic tag that offers zero protection or convenience to a person with a disability navigating Lagos roads.”
Rather than pursuing tokenistic measures, CITAB urged LASODA and the Lagos State Government to pivot toward structural and impactful reforms that confront the root causes of disability exclusion in the state.
According to him, “If LASODA truly wants to make a difference, the agency should focus its resources on systemic change,” he asserted. “This includes employing disabled persons under both state and local government civil service commission, instituting mandatory disability awareness and empathy training for transport unions like the NURTW, creating enforceable accessibility mandates for public transit, and ensuring that public infrastructure is designed to accommodate everyone. True empowerment comes from breaking down physical and social barriers, not from announcing decorative items that change nothing on the ground.”
CITAB called on the Lagos State Government to immediately prioritise policies that guarantee accessible and affordable public transportation for PWDs; to set binding employment targets for disabled persons across ministries, departments, and agencies; and to establish comprehensive healthcare and housing support schemes that recognise disability as a condition demanding specific protections and services, not charity.
CITAB further demanded that LASODA publish a clear roadmap and timelines for making all state owned buildings, roads, and transport systems accessible; that disability related funds be transparently managed and ring fenced for structural inclusion; and that Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) be given a formal, independent role in designing, monitoring, and evaluating every disability policy in Lagos State.
In conclusion, the CITAB boss stressed that real progress requires policies designed to uplift every individual within the PWD community, irrespective of their economic background, insisting that disability rights are non negotiable.
He said, “A government agency’s vision must be wide enough to encompass every person with a disability, from the job seeker in the suburbs to the self employed worker in the local market,” he declared. “Disability rights are fundamental human rights, not luxury privileges reserved for those with deep pockets. We demand comprehensive, enforceable policies that guarantee equal opportunities, dignified living standards, and accessible public spaces for all persons with disabilities in Lagos State, and we will continue to challenge any agency that settles for cosmetic gestures instead of real change.”
