The Chairman of the Abia State Disability Commission, Dr. David Anyaele, has assured Persons with Disabilities, PWDs, who protested their alleged exclusion from the ongoing teacher recruitment exercise, that the Commission will work to ensure justice is done.
Dr. Anyaele gave the assurance on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, when he intervened after the aggrieved applicants gathered peacefully at the Government House gate in Umuahia to protest the omission of their names from the list of candidates undergoing orientation.
Addressing the protesters, the Chairman explained that the state government had an affirmative action policy that gives priority to Persons with Disabilities in recruitment exercises.
He said the policy was the reason PWD applicants were exempted from participating in the Computer-Based Test, CBT, conducted as part of the recruitment process.
Dr. Anyaele, however, identified a communication gap as one of the factors responsible for the current situation, noting that a comprehensive list of the affected applicants had not been forwarded to the Commission by the leadership of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, JONAPWD.
He said the absence of the list made it difficult for the Commission to identify the specific PWD applicants whose names were missing from the orientation schedule.
To address the matter, Dr. Anyaele directed the protesting applicants to compile their full names, local government areas, contact details and educational qualifications and submit the information to the Commission.
He pledged to personally investigate the alleged exclusion and present the matter to the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, for appropriate action.
The Chairman commended the protesters for their resilience and determination, noting that persons with disabilities had overcome several physical, attitudinal and institutional barriers to acquire education and qualify for employment.
Dr. Anyaele stressed that the state government’s policy remained that qualified Persons with Disabilities should be given priority in employment opportunities, assuring the protesters that they would not be excluded.
The intervention underscores the Abia State Government’s stated commitment to inclusive governance and efforts to ensure that qualified Persons with Disabilities benefit from employment opportunities in the ongoing recruitment exercises.
