By Julian Osamoto
The Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD, has identified accessibility gaps in government websites that could limit access to public information and online services for persons with disabilities.
CITAD Technical Officer, Yusuf Babagana, disclosed this in Abuja while presenting the findings of an assessment of government websites and portals for persons with disabilities.
Babagana said CITAD assessed about 200 websites operated by federal ministries, departments, agencies and security agencies.
He explained that the assessment identified gaps including limited screen-reader support and inadequate descriptions for images on some government platforms. “The gaps could make it difficult for people with visual impairments to navigate websites and understand visual content through assistive technologies”.
He noted that the assessment team were able to access 150 of the websites, while 50 could not be accessed during the exercise.
CITAD Coordinator for Persons with Disabilities, Hamza Aminu, said inadequate colour contrast on some websites could also create difficulties for people with albinism and urged government agencies to meet accessibility standards and train officials responsible for digital content in accessible design.
Meanwhile, the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, urged stakeholders to incorporate the findings into Nigeria’s existing regulatory framework for government websites.
NITDA Head of Government Websites and Domains, Folayan Oluwasegun, suggested that stakeholders could combine the criteria developed in consultation with persons with disabilities with existing government standards to create a common scorecard for assessing digital platforms.
Oluwasegun also called for wider participation by people with different disabilities in future assessments, stressing that broader participation would help stakeholders align accessibility requirements with existing government standards and strengthen the assessment process.
Speaking from the telecommunications consumer perspective, Iniobong Onumajuru affirmed that the Nigerian Communications Commission’s website provides features including contrast settings, font-size controls, letter spacing and line-height adjustments.
She stated that work was also underway to add voice-over and sign-language interpretation to the NCC consumer portal.
Contributing, David Balogun of the Nigerian Association of the Blind welcomed the initiative but urged CITAD to involve more people with disabilities in future engagements.
He said broader participation would provide additional practical suggestions and help CITAD strengthen its recommendations.
