Nigerian women demand more ministerial slots
Stakeholders and civil society organisations have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do more for women in appointing them into various political positions, arguing that if women were considered good enough to vote and campaign during elections, they should not be left out in active governance.
Penpushing reports that the call was made at a media dialogue organised by Women Radio 91.7 FM on Saturday April 6, 2024 in commemoration of the two years landmark judgement on 35% affirmative action.
The National President of International Federation of Women Lawyers(FIDA) Amina Agbaje, lamented that the Tinubu-led administration appointed less women as ministers, adding that that there is a need to sustain and continue the demand for more women’s representation.
Penpushing further reports that Rasheedat Medupin of Sustainable Gender Action Initiative (SGAI) in her contributions stated that the government needs to partner with civil society organisations to intensify efforts to implement the 35% affirmative action and also make Nigeria a nation where women’s voices are heard.
The woman appealed to the Tinubu-led government to uphold the judgement of April 6, 2022 by appointing more women into positions, stressing that Nigeria needs to accept women as accomplished leaders and ensure that gender policies are implemented.
Penpushing also reports that Barrister Marshal Abubakar of Falana and Falana Chambers, said the government must be reminded to obey the rule of law of judgement, and equally urged Nigerian women to go back to court to get the judgement enforced should the Tinubu administration fail to uphold the judgement.
The legal practitioner in the same vein called for the need to engage with stakeholders at the national assembly to canvass for constitutional amendment to allow women occupy more seat, while Ngozi Nwosu-Juba of Vision Spring Initiatives emphasised the need to involve more women at grassroots and return back to court to get the judgement enforced.
Penpushing reports that Nwosu-Juba recommended that the ongoing constitutional review should be taken advantage of to revisit the 5 gender bills to make up for the lack of women in governance, while on her part Zainab Yahaya Tanko of Nigerian Women Trust Fund stated that women have the numbers and must be adequately represented, and equally called for the need to intensify efforts until the judgement is implemented.
The consensus of the media dialogue is that the government must implement in full its own National Gender Policy that has been further made mandatory through the April 6, 2022 landmark judgement in favour of Nigerian women.
Penpushing further reports that in 2020, a group of Nigerian civil society organisations led by Nigerian Women Trust Fund took the Nigerian government to court seeking an injunction to compel the government to implement the 35 percent affirmative action as contained in the National Gender Policy which was adopted by the government in 2006.
Meanwhile, it is recalled that on April 6, 2020 the case was won by Nigerian women with pro bono support from Falana and Falana Chambers.
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