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•Last week, Nigeria’s junior female football team, the Super Falconets arriving France for the U-20 tournament
APC free form:
Not enough motivating factor,
we need elective positions
—-APC women cry out
By Ebun Sessou
Some female chieftains of
the All Progressives
Congress,APC, in Lagos
State, have described the
party’s promise of free
nomination forms for women as
not motivating enough to
aspiring female politicians.
•Cross-section of APC women in Epe
They stated this recently at the
just concluded stakeholders
constituency meeting which
took place across all the 40
local governments in Lagos
State.
According to them, the
promise by the party to give
freew nomination forms for
women in the party as a way of
encouraging them to be
actively involved in politics is
mere words of mouth.
The just concluded national
convention of the All
Progressives Congress, APC,
held at the Eagles Square in
Abuja recently had 21
members of the National
Working Committee, NWC
and 32 members of the nonmember
of the National
Working Committee, making
the total number of 53
members of the executives of
the APC .
Surprisingly, only two
positions were allotted to
women. The National Woman
Leader among the members of
the NWC and Deputy National
Woman leader among the nonmember
of the NWC. While,
the remaining 51 positions
were allotted to men.
This development also reflects
in different arms of the political
situation of the party where
women are hardly seen taking
active positions in
government.
It is against this background
that WO spoke with some
members of the party to
ascertain the claim. Speaking
to WO in different
constituencies, the women
lamented that in the history of
politics in Nigeria, women
take the larger percentage
than men adding that hardly
are they being represented in
the political situation in the
country.
Corroborating this, one of the
women in Epe constituency 11,
Mrs Mopelola Badejo, noted
that more women are involved
in politics and they are seen at
different levels but lamented
that only a few of them are given
the chance to contest election.
According to her, “The gesture
of giving free nomination forms
to women is good and it has
been there for a while, but the
fact that forms are given free
of charge does not
automatically say women
would be given the chance to
contest elective positions.
“The leaders only do that to
draw women into politics but
when it comes to reality, it is
different. What would be
appreciated is that women
should be given the chance to
express themselves politically.
There should be more women
in the local government, house
of assembly, house of
representatives, the senates,
deputy governor, governors
and even president. Women
should be equally represented
as men in all the political
cadres of the country so that
they can be well represented.
“The number of people who
are in elective offices cannot
be compared to the appointees.
If you compare the number of
women who are in elective
offices with the number of
women in politics, you will see
that the margin is wide.
“You will see that women are
still at the zero level. At all
levels including zonal, local
and ward women gather and
at any gathering, we have 90
percent of women participation
but when they are putting
people in offices, you see that
less than two percent of women
are represented which means
our men are shortchanging us.
“Our leaders, our fathers are
shortchanging women which
is not good. We have been
shouting that our national
leaders, including Asiwaju
Ahmed Bola Tinubu should
listen to us. Our governor, Mr.
Akinwunmi Ambode should
listen to us and include more
women in his cabinet.
“Naturally, it is human nature
that people do not support
themselves but when we are
talking about politics, women
including the market women,
traders are ready to go into
politics.
“Every aspect of women is in
politics especially now that the
political affairs is toxic. Besides
some of the key people, you
hardly find our leaders
championing the course of
women. Nobody is ready to
listen to us.
“There is need to engage more
women in active politics.
Although the men are there,
they do not know us as much
as we know ourselves as
women. The involvement of
more women in politics would
give way for better political
activities in Nigeria.
In her opinion, Mrs. Ramota
Bankole, Welfare Secretary of
the All Progressive Congress,
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