A group, National Coalition of Affirmative Action(NCAA), has expressed its displeasure to the national assembly(NASS) for its rejection of gender bill in the course of amending the Nigerian Constitution.
The group, a network of NGOs working in the areas of women and girls right, speaking through
Hon. Florence Gbinigie, Coordinator Forum of Nigerian Women In Politics (FONWIP) on the occasion of International Women Day(IWD) 2022, said that “we condemn vehemently the attitude of the law makers rejecting what matters to the lives of Nigerian Women. This country belongs to all of us both males and females.
“Most importantly, Nigerian women have contributed immensely to the economic and political development of our dear country Nigeria. In the 2019 presidential and national assembly elections to the Senate and House of Representatives, out of the 912 million eligible voters, the turn out was over 67 percent, which was the highest turnout ever recorded with higher participation of women than men.
“To our greatest surprise, the pay back received for the precious time and stress we went through including risking our lives to place them in position of making laws to better our land is to exit us from existence as citizens.
“Excluding us from the Constitution that binds us together as a nation in its entirety, politically and otherwise is a move we reject in all ramifications.”
Going further, Hon. Gbinigie said, “the inadequate representation of women in the country’s leadership positions, (political parties, elective / appointive, including top government career offices and governance) is awful and disheartening.
“At the National Assembly (comprising the Senate with 109 members and the House of Representatives with 360 members totaling 469 members of parliament), only 29 are women (six per cent of the total). There are, however, 440 men at the Nigeria National Assembly.
“Meanwhile, women constitute half of the nation’s population and yet, denied the opportunity of representation in leadership positions which amounts to denying half of Nigeria’s population the voice and opportunity to contribute to governance and development which has led to the backward state we find ourselves today as a nation.
“Unfortunately the opportunity to correct this aged long imbalance and discrimination against women and girls, was thrown out by the male dominated national assembly.”
