By Yemi Adeleye
Lagos – Mrs Omotayo Oduntan, a stalwart of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, has urged political parties and the mass media to support women seeking political offices in 2019.
Oduntan, a third-term female lawmaker, representing Alimosho Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
“Everybody should be concerned about the poor representation of women in government. Both men and women should be concerned.
“When you consider the population of women in the country and their percentage in both appointive and elective positions, there is nothing to write home about in it.
“Meanwhile, women form a larger chunk of voters. Many of our women see politics as a dirty game which is wrong.
“We need more women in governance because women are more compassionate than men and they don’t amass wealth as men, though there are few bad eggs,’’ the legislator said.
She said that political parties should go beyond offering free nomination forms to women to encourage their participation in politics.
“The media should also help us to project women who come out to seek political offices,” Oduntan, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House said.
The lawmaker said that electoral violence, money politics and lack of courage had been holding many women back from running elective positions.
She said that women had not been receiving the desired support from men to run for elective posts.
She also decried the attitude of some women who preferred to support men than their fellow women seeking elective positions.
“Sometimes, some women, because they believe their fellow women do not have enough money to share, abandon them for their male counterparts who will give them.
“We must increase awareness to end this trend. Women must support women in 2019.
“Our women should come out to contest elections in 2019; even if they fail, they should try again and again until they succeed,” she said.
On money politics, Oduntan said that the culture had deprived the nation of many genuine leaders.