Lagos – An NGO, Gender and Development Action (GADA), has urged female politicians to use the ongoing restructuring in some of the political parties as an opportunity to negotiate for appointments.
Mrs Chinwe Onyeukwu, the Director of GADA, made the call at a capacity building training for female politicians organised by Women for Equity and Fairness Organisation of Nigeria (WEFON), an NGO, in collaboration with GADA on Thursday in Lagos.
The participants were drawn from the 57 local government areas and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos ahead of the local government elections in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme is aimed at providing a dynamic platform that will bring together all women in politics, irrespective of their parties affiliation.
“As PDP is restructuring, we see it as opportunity for women in that political party to ensure that everything that concerns women is brought to bare.
“We urge you to negotiate for party leadership, to negotiate party primaries, to negotiate for appointments and all that can bring a change in the parties’ constitution.
“Anything that will benefit women in politics is what WEFON stands for. It cuts across party lines.
“We are not for any political party, we are for all parties so long as they do what is right to ensure that more women participate in politics,” she said.
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Mrs Adaobi Egboka, a lawyer, urged women to support the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill already pending before some state Houses of Assembly.
“We call on women like you to support us in the assemblies to have this bill passed.
“Civil society and other women groups too have a role to play in making this bill a reality.
“The bill proposes that special measures be allocated for women in terms of employment, and that 40 per cent appointments be reserved for them,” Egboka said.
In her remarks, Mrs Comfort Samuel, an aspirant for local government election on the ticket of PDP in Ward E, Amuwo-Odofin LCDA, expressed satisfaction with the workshop.
She said “I have been enlightened about a lot of things, especially things I did not know before; but now, I know.
“I have learnt about how an aspirant can carry herself, and I must also say that this is my first time of hearing about the Africa Charter Treaty.
“If there is a way for a copy to be made available to us I will be very happy.
“It will help me to tell grassroots women more about where we as women have been cheated,” Samuel said. (NAN)