LASODA Injects ₦24m Into Disability Groups To Bolster Grassroots Support

By Sherif Salau

In a timely boost for organisations serving some of Lagos State’s most vulnerable residents, the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) on Thursday disbursed a special intervention fund of ₦24 million to 12 registered Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs).

The presentation took place at LASODA’s premises in Alausa, Ikeja. General Manager Mrs Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal said the funds are intended to strengthen the operational capacity of the groups and enable them to deliver more effective grassroots services, advocacy and economic empowerment programmes to persons with disabilities across the state.

She linked the initiative directly to the Lagos State Government’s THEMES Plus Development Agenda, which prioritises social inclusion and equal opportunity. “OPDs are important partners,” Mrs Oyetunde-Lawal noted. “Their proximity to persons with disabilities at the community level places them in a unique position to identify needs, provide support and promote inclusion.”

The intervention comes at a period of sustained economic pressure marked by high living costs, inflation and constrained household incomes. For many persons with disabilities and the organisations that support them, these conditions have intensified existing barriers to healthcare, mobility aids, skills training and basic livelihoods. Direct financial support of this kind can help OPDs cover critical operational expenses, sustain outreach programmes, and expand economic empowerment activities that put resources and opportunities closer to those who need them most. In practical terms, the funds may enable groups to maintain service delivery that might otherwise shrink under rising costs, while also supporting initiatives that help beneficiaries generate income or build resilience in a difficult economic climate.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiary organisations, Mr Tolani Ojuri, Chairman of the Albinism Association of Nigeria, thanked the Lagos State Government and LASODA for the intervention and for their continued partnership with the disability community.

LASODA has reiterated its commitment to deepening collaboration with disability organisations and advancing programmes that improve the well-being, participation and socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Lagos State.