JONAPWD Mobilises Over Enugu Disability Commission Crisis

ENUGU— The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Enugu State Chapter, has declared full mobilisation of persons with disabilities across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state to defend the Enugu State Persons with Disabilities Commission.

The association made the declaration in a statement issued on Sunday by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Chinedu Meshack Adibe, at the end of its second Executive Committee meeting for 2026, held in Enugu.

JONAPWD also called on Gov. Peter Mbah and relevant government authorities to urgently intervene in what it described as a worsening administrative crisis in the commission.

The association said the commission was established to serve as an institutional voice for persons with disabilities in the state and guarantee their rights, welfare, empowerment and inclusion.

It recalled that Mbah had inaugurated the Governing Board of the Enugu State Persons with Disabilities Commission in November 2025, with a mandate to promote the education, healthcare, economic and social well-being of persons with disabilities.

JONAPWD said it was unacceptable that the progress of the commission was being threatened by what it described as “avoidable internal power struggles”.

“After due consultation, the Executive Committee hereby resolves as follows:

“We condemn in the strongest terms any act of insubordination, usurpation of authority or unilateral actions that undermine the Governing Board and the law establishing the commission by any individual.

“JONAPWD Enugu State hereby declares a full mobilisation of the entire disability community across the 17 LGAs to defend the sanctity and functional operation of the commission if those fuelling the leadership crisis fail to have a rethink.

“We call on any individual or group, within or outside government, who are pushing, sponsoring or supporting the current power tussle to have an immediate rethink and withdraw.

“The disability community will not fold its hands while selfish interests destroy the only institution for disability rights.”

The association also appealed to Mbah and other critical stakeholders and government agencies to “urgently intervene, provide clear operational guidelines, and restore discipline, accountability and coordination” in the commission.

“Nonetheless, the mandate of the commission is sacred. It is greater than any individual.

“We will not allow administrative confusion, ego or power play to sacrifice the future of persons with disabilities in Enugu State.

“We would rather die than allow the commission become the opposite of the original intention for which it was established by His Excellency,” it said.

The association said the disability community was “watching” and ready to act through peaceful and lawful means.

“The disability community is watching, and we are ready to act. Let it be known, anyone who chooses to stand against the progress of citizens with disabilities in Enugu State shall face the full wrath of divinity and the collective resistance of over 200,000 individuals with disabilities.

“Everything shouldn’t be politics,” JONAPWD said.

It described persons with disabilities as a community already facing significant challenges and appealed to individuals and groups not to worsen their situation through what it described as “man-made self-centredness”.

The association further said the dispute was not about who occupied an office, but whether the institution established to serve persons with disabilities was functioning effectively.

“This is not about who occupies an office. It’s about whether the institution created to serve us is actually working.

“We need accessibility, employment and empowerment, healthcare, education, social protection, rehabilitation, dignity and equal participation.

“We cannot allow personal interests, power struggles or administrative conflicts to steal opportunities provided by our Disability Inclusive Governor for over 200,000 citizens with disabilities in Enugu State,” it said.

JONAPWD said its concerns were rooted in the need to protect the gains made in disability inclusion and ensure that the commission remained focused on its statutory mandate.

“Our message is simple. Let us be clearer. From the 17 LGAs, our voices shall rise. Not in violence, but peaceful, lawful and courageous.

“Our rights! Our dignity! Our future! Our voice!

“This must sink to the hearing of anyone involved and do not know much about the struggle we’ve gone through to the emergence of the Disability Commission,” the association said.

JONAPWD reaffirmed its loyalty to Mbah’s administration and its vision of an inclusive Enugu State where “No One Is Left Behind”.

It wished the governor and Enugu State well.

“Long live Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah! Long live Enugu State!” the association said.