Article By Dumbiri Frank Eboh
Blind applicants in Lagos have cried out over their “systematic exclusion” from the current recruitment exercise going on at the state’s Local Government Civil Service Commission. This is contained in a press release from Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB), Lagos state chapter, the umbrella body of all blind and visually impaired persons in the state.
The press release, jointly signed by the secretary of the association, Daniel Isaiah, and Oluwakemi Odusayan, the Chairperson, Skill acquisition and Employment Committee, accused the commission of excluding blind applicants from the exercise. It also appealed to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to urgently step in and save the situation before it degenerates.
According to the release, “Since October 2025, several applicants with visual impairment have participated fully in this recruitment exercise. These applicants successfully completed the online aptitude tests, met all eligibility requirements, and WERE scheduled for the initial screening stage —proving, beyond doubt, their competence, and capacity.”
NAB noted that despite all this, these blind applicants were turned back when they came for their scheduled physical screening.
“However, on the very day scheduled for their physical screening, these applicants were turned back, instructed to ‘go home’ and assured they would be contacted later. Months have passed. No calls. No emails. No explanations. Only silence,” the statement further read, adding that Repeated visits to the Civil Service Commission yielded no result as the permanent secretary was always said to be not on seat.
“This explanation has now become a painful refrain—one that deepens anxiety, erodes dignity, and communicates clearly that the lives and futures of blind applicants do not matter to the Local Government Civil Service Commission despite the concerted efforts being put in place by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure an inclusive Lagos society where there is fair and equal opportunity for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the state,” the press release continued.
NAB further averred that as far back as July 2025, a formal letter was written through the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), to the permanent Secretary, local government civil service commission, presenting the details of candidates with disabilities who underwent the test and seeking the attention of the permanent secretary on the matter. The letter was duly received and signed but no action was taken to redress the issue.
“Meanwhile, qualified blind applicants continue to roam the streets unemployed, burdened by uncertainty, economic hardship, and emotional trauma—not because they lack merit, but because they live with visual impairment,” the statement added.
NAB said it was using the opportunity to appeal to Gov. Sanwo-Olu to intervene in the matter and prevail on the commission to retrace its steps from its current discriminatory disposition to blind applicants in the state, and adopt equity and fairness in the ongoing recruitment exercise, noting that failure to do this would be a big dent on the success recorded by the state in its quest for an inclusive Lagos society.
“The Nigeria Association of the Blind, Lagos State Chapter, therefore uses this medium to draw the attention of the Lagos state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to the ongoing exclusion of blind persons in the state by the local government Civil Service Commission. The governor should use his good office to prevail on the commission to review its current discriminatory disposition to blind applicants in the state and give immediate employment to all qualified applicants with visual impairment who participated in the recruitment process.
“As earlier stated, we are aware of the efforts being put in place by the governor to ensure an inclusive Lagos society; however, the ongoing exclusion of blind persons by the civil service commission, if not urgently addressed and blind applicants in the state given their fair share in the employment process, would be a huge drawback on the success of those efforts,” the press release stated.
When Lagos Today Extra! contacted the Lagos State Local Government Civil Service Commission to get their own side of the issue, the commission denied the allegation made by NAB Lagos, insisting that persons with disabilities in the state, including blind applicants, have been employed in the current recruitment exercise.
“In lieu of the questions asked concerning the recruitment process involving applicants who are visually impaired, Blind applicants are not being excluded; as a matter of fact a good number of physically challenged applicants, including the visually impaired, have been recruited and some are still in the process,” the commission stated.
However, when our correspondent requested for a list of those blind applicants that have been employed in the current recruitment exercise, the commission declined the request due to what it referred to as “data protection and confidentiality”.
“We cannot release the names of candidates because of data protection and confidentiality,” it said.
The commission also debunked the claim that the applicants were prevented from seeing the permanent secretary, saying “They were not prevented from seeing the Permanent Secretary; she had different assignments as at when they showed up but they were attended to by the Director, Public Affairs, Mrs Omolase Yejide, who gave them her number for follow-up.”
However, a source close to the leadership of NAB Lagos, who pleaded anonymity, described the response from the commission as nothing short of falsehood.
“Why are they not forthcoming with the names of blind applicants they have so far employed in the current exercise if indeed they have employed any? What’s so confidential about the name of civil servants when you are not including their personal details? It shows you that they are lying. They are not employing blind persons and that’s the hard fact and bitter truth that they are not owning up to. Why were blind applicants turned back on the day of their physical screening? It shows that, right from the onset, they have decided not to give our people their own share of the employment quota in the current recruitment exercise” he said.
He also faulted the claim that the permanent secretary was too busy to see the blind applicants, saying that the visits were on several occasions and the permanent secretary could not have been busy each time these applicants visited.
“Is it every time the blind applicants visit that she becomes suddenly too busy to see anyone? I think there is something they are not telling us. And since it appears the permanent secretary cannot resolve the issue, the governor should urgently come in and save the situation before it gets out of hand.
The Lagos State Special Peoples Law, 2011, guarantees equal rights to employment for persons with disabilities and the Protection against systemic exclusion within state institutions.
These rights do not just exist to provide a fair and equitable balance between the PWDs and the larger society but also aim to ensure fairness across clusters in the disabilities community in such a way that no cluster should be left behind.
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