Ondo State governor’s wife, Betty Akeredolu, through her group, Imo Women Matter (IWM), is seeking for the inclusion of more women in governance in the country.
Speaking at a women conference in Owerri, at the weekend, she decried the backseat given to women in governance, arguing that the women folk deserves equal rights like their male counterparts in politics and administration of the state.
The Ondo first lady said IWM was born out of the desire to address the inequality and other rights the female gender is deprived of.
“There are instances where the boy-child is enrolled in school while the girl-child is made to stay at home and often compelled into early marriage as means to raise funds for the education of the boy-child,” she said.
Narrowing her arguments to recent elections in the state, she said: “In an attempt to bring closer home the sad evidences of patriarchal tendencies and misogyny is a scenario in Imo State, one of the educationally advanced states in Nigeria.
“After the recent election conducted in Imo, three elected senators are males,out of the 10 elected members of the House of Representatives, only one is female, and the 27 elected members of the Imo State House of Assembly are males. The positions of chairmen, vice chairmen and secretaries of major political parties in the state are all males and all the governorship candidates across political parties in the state are males.,” Akeredolu said.
In he same vein, Anambra State governor’s wife, Nonye Soludo, called for the review of the National Gender Policy and other relevant laws of the country to give broader space for women’s participation in politics.
Soludo made the call in Awka, the state capital, while assessing the performance of the female candidates at the 2023 general election. She said she was not impressed by their poor outing.
She said she had expected to see more number of women winning legislative seats in the state and National Assemblies; and, therefore, called for the removal of all impediments inhibiting women’s electoral success.
The Anambra governor’s wife also called for the inclusion of more women in governance both at the state and national levels, saying so doing was necessary to enable women contribute their quota to national development.
The governor’s wife’s remarks were following a recent review which reportedly revealed that 96 per cent of women who contested in the polls lost to their male counterparts.
“The review, which was conducted by a leading national daily, disclosed a total of 1,553 women were on the ballot for the presidential, governorship, national and state assemblies’ elections held on February 25 and March 18, 2023.
“However, out of 15,307 candidates who contested under the 18 registered political parties during the 2023 general election, males constituted 13,754 which represented 89.8 per cent while the 1,553 female candidates represented 10.1 per cent.”
Sun News Online
