Alaafin of Oyo Pledges Support for PWDs’ Tertiary Education
By Adewale Owoade.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, has pledged to support Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in accessing tertiary education.
He emphasised the importance of traditional institutions partnering with governments to provide educational opportunities for PWDs.
He stated this during the conduct of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), for 58 blind candidates, held at the Federal College of Education (special), Oyo, from Monday 28 April to Tuesday 29 April 2025.
Oba Owoade who was represented by one of his aids, Rev Dr. Dele Kolade, promised to include PWDs in his scholarship schemes, extending support beyond Oyo State to six geographical zones of the country.
He stressed the need for inclusivity in education, ensuring PWDs have equal opportunities to access tertiary education.
The Alaafin advised traditional institutions to partner with federal and state governments to support PWDs’ educational development.
While interacting with the candidates and officials, the Oyo State’s Commissioner for Education, Prof. Salihu Abdulwaheed, reaffirmed the state’s commitment to inclusivity in education and employment opportunities for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
He highlighted that over 200 PWDs have recently been offered employment in various government agencies.
The Director General of the Oyo State Agency for Persons with Disabilities, OYSAPD, Barr. Ayodele Adekanmbi, a blind person himself, corroborated the commissioner’s statement.
The coordinator of the examination in Oyo Center, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, who is a former Minister of Sports and Special duties and former Provost of Federal College of Education(special) Oyo, praised JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, for the successful conduct of the examination over the past eight years.
“The various programs of the Federal government in the last two years has positively impacted on the lives of persons with disabilities,particularly in the education sector”.
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for visually impaired candidates took place across 11 centers, with a total of 501 candidates, 68 out of it wrote their exams in Oyo.
Other centers are; Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Enugu, Ado-Ekiti, Benin, Sokoto, Yola, Bauchi, and Birnin Kebbi.
