The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday said that one of the relevant way to bridge the gender gap in political arena is for Nigerian women to mobilize their votes for all viable women candidates in the forthcoming 2023 general elections in the country.
Wike, who disclosed this while making his remarks as special guest at the 4th FOWOSO Summit in Akure, the Ondo state capital, however, said the government and the ruling parties should take the relevant measures to change the status quo for a more progressive, participation and accommodation of women in politics and governance.
He said according to a Women in Politics Forum report, only 18.9 per cent of women made up the party list of contestants for the 2023 general elections, with only The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) fielding a woman as its presidential candidate.
The Rivers state governor, who frowned at the how Nigeria was ranked 181 out of 193 countries in the gender equality index for countries with low women representation in governance said action must be taking to change the present scenario.
According to Wike, who was represented by the Rivers State Head of Service, Mr. Rufus Godwins said, “So, for me, the starting point is to break the structural barriers that reinforce discriminatory cultural beliefs, practices and policies against women and girls through legislation, policy reforms and other targeted measures to accelerate access to education and economic and political empowerment.
“With good education and economic empowerment women can fully and equally compete for available political opportunities with men and triumph rather than waiting to be patronised based on sheer sympathy and pity.
“Beyond this is to reconstruct the constitutional, legal and policy frameworks to accommodate equitable guarantees and an allocation of at least a 30 per cent quota for the candidates of all political parties to be women.
“This is more so in our situation where there is lack of equality of political arms between men and women due to age long neglect and denial of the social, economic and political rights of women.”
Wike, who also donated N200 million to the Foundation for Wives of Ondo State Official, FOWOSO, in order to assist the association, encouraged gender advocates to mobilise the womenfolk across Nigeria to request the National Assembly to revisit the four gender equality bills they recently rejected during the recent alteration process of our constitution.
“As I opposed and spoke against the rejection of those bills by the National Assembly, so I’m ready and willing to support our women in advancing their fundamental rights of a robust and equitable political representation of all levels of governance,” Wike said.
Speaking on the theme of the 4th FOWOSO Summit, tagged “Bridging The Gender Gap In Political Arena: A Case Of Nigerian Women”, the Wife of the Ondo state governor and Founder of the association, Chief (Mrs.) Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu said there was need to do more in collective strife to elevate the status of women across the states.
According to her, the theme of the summit, “astounding scorecard of FOWOSO speaks loudly and convincingly to the urgent need to bridge the gender gap in Nigeria’s political space. To resist women’s equitable participation in politics and leadership even in the face of these successes is to encourage the proverbial ill wind that blows nobody any good.”
Mrs. Akeredolu said, “I am proud to announce that we have steadily progressed and there is no looking back. We have put our hands on the plough with amazing results.
“Our performances are both concrete and measurable; they are no less evident in the number of women whose lives have been transformed through this noble initiative.
“The last one year has in every way been eventful and laudable. The association played strategic roles in growing the status of women in the state. It participated in organising the 2022 Bemore Summer Boot Camp and left alluring imprint.
“Its members are now zestful advocates against breast and cervical cancer as visibly demonstrated in partnership with the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), particularly during the pink October.
“FOWOSO took the world by storm on November 7 as it laid the foundation of a multi-million naira Centre as a stupendous legacy project that would, upon completion, provide shelter for vulnerable women and girls, including victims of Sexual and Gender-Based violence, SGBV, in the state. It is one project that is demonstrating to the country and the world at large that women are capable of rare accomplishments.
“It is to the credit of this robust organisation that it championed the premier edition of Ondo State Skill Acquisition and Empowerment Programme (OSSA-EP) and, at once, brought forth both sterling results and consummate template for a programme that was supposedly a guinea pig. The graduation ceremony of the first set of beneficiaries of this incredible initiative was an emphatic seal of competence on FOWOSO.
“Even now, members of this association have been on to the 16 days of activism against sexual and Gender-based Violence while exerting raw energies through rigorous and vociferous campaign.
“It is interesting to note that this year’s summit falls within the spectacular season of activism, hence we advocate even as we celebrate, and take honest stock of our strides.
“No doubt we have recorded significant wins. On this lane, we have succeeded in getting the government signed into law the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) bill; we have frontally fought gender violations in the state to the extent that the offense is now dreaded as against offenders being a threat to our women and girls; we have improved the number of women in appointive and elective positions and made history to have gotten the first female Secretary to the State Government in the 46 years of statehood,” Mrs Akeredolu said.
