Disability rights advocates and public finance experts have criticised the Federal Government’s ₦8.2 billion allocation for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the 2026 national budget, describing the funding as inadequate for a population estimated at more than 30 million Nigerians.
The experts raised the concerns during a virtual discussion organised by PWDSpotlight in collaboration with the BO Foundation for Inclusive Media (BOFIM) and BO News, where they examined disability-related allocations in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
They questioned whether the amount provided could adequately address the challenges confronting persons with disabilities, including limited access to education, healthcare, transportation, assistive devices, skills acquisition and social protection.
The panellists argued that disability inclusion should not be treated as charity or a token gesture but as a fundamental component of national development and equal opportunity.
Journalist Blessing Oladunjoye stressed that the additional costs associated with living with a disability made adequate government support essential. She noted that people with mobility challenges, for instance, could incur transportation expenses that others might avoid by walking short distances.
Oladunjoye also maintained that responsibility for disability inclusion should extend beyond specialised government agencies. She called on ministries and departments responsible for roads, education, healthcare and public infrastructure to incorporate accessibility into their projects from the planning stage.
She explained that public facilities should be designed to accommodate people with different disabilities rather than requiring separate interventions after construction.
PWDSpotlight Project Manager Habeeb Adisa said scrutiny of the budget was necessary to determine whether government commitments were translating into meaningful improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities.
The discussion also highlighted concerns about transparency, fund releases and implementation, with participants calling for clearer information on how the money would be spent, who would benefit and what results the programmes were expected to deliver.
Oluwatimilehin Olugbemi of BudgIT’s Open Government and Institutional Partnerships team emphasised the importance of public accountability and monitoring government expenditure to ensure that approved allocations achieve their intended purposes.
The experts further called for persons with disabilities to be included in decisions concerning the design, implementation and monitoring of programmes meant to support them.
They warned that without adequate funding, effective implementation and transparent spending, budgetary commitments might fail to address the significant barriers that many Nigerians with disabilities continue to face.
The stakeholders urged the government to strengthen disability-inclusive budgeting and ensure that funding commitments produce measurable improvements in accessibility, economic empowerment and quality of life.
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