By IFEOMA AKA
ENUGU- A Women advocate group, Women Support Women, is demanding for the seat of deputy governor of Enugu State and other positions.The Coordinator of the Group, Mrs Onyinye Mamah, made the appeal on Thursday while briefing journalists in Enugu.According to Mamah, the position of the state deputy governor, which is currently occupied by a woman, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, alongside other elective and appointive positions, should be reserved for women.She lamented that women had for long been neglected in the political activities of the state, which was evident in the appointment of commissioners, Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries, among others.Mamah expressed sadness that at the end of the recent political parties’ primary elections in Enugu state, only four women emerged as flag bearers.This, she said, was in the House of Assembly, two for Senate while none emerged as a House of Representatives flag bearer, stressing that a lot needed to be done.The Coordinator revealed that the group would engage governorship candidates in the state on the need for them to choose woman as their running mates.She added that the group was ready to recommend credible and competent women for the position.“We understand that the governor’s antecedent is that he has used a woman as the deputy governor for the past seven years.“We believe that for the good of history and for posterity, the incoming administration will not do less than what the present administration has started doing.”There is this urgent need for our state to welcome affirmative action.”What affirmative action demands is that we have nothing less than six women in the State House of Assembly, three women in the National Assembly and a deputy governor.“We have three senators already, who have procured tickets from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, which is the ruling party in the state.“No woman is seen there. So already, we are beginning to build bad history.“The only way we can salvage our faces as women advocates, as technocrats, as civil society organisations and as concerned citizens, is to speak up with one voice.”We say more women should come up as Commissioners, Senior Special Adviser, Special Assistants and Permanent Secretaries.“This is the age where women should get into the system. If you say that women are the most vulnerable statistics after children in the society, and you want to reach out to us, why should we not be on the decision making table?“I had a major challenge trying to reach out to our nine House of Representative members, till date, I have not even spoken to all of them.“They have not been able to convene a single meeting with us.Mamah stressed that as women advocates, who are nonpartisan, the group would endeavour to support all women vying for elective positions in 2023, irrespective of their political parties.She explained that this was because the group’s objective was to ensure that women assumed their rightful position in the Enugu State political space. (NAN)
