To realise the signing of the Special Seats Bill into law, women leaders in Nigeria’s political parties have united to woo their male counterparts and lawmakers to pass the proposed law.
They also resolved to present and support competent candidates to represent them in federal and state legislatures.
The female politicians, who operate under the National Women Leaders’ Forum of Political Parties in Nigeria (NWLFPPN), disclosed this at a strategy session on “Women Inclusion and the Special Seats” organised by the Policy and Legacy Advocacy Centre (PLAC), with the support of the European Union (EU).
The women are drawn from the 19 registered political parties and youth organisations.
At the event, the president of NWLFPPN, Dr Amina Darasimi Bryhm, said the group agreed on a two-step approach to first ensure assent to the bill and to ensure women’s impact is felt once elected into special seats.
“We decided to come together because united our voices are loudest, and therefore can speak to the issues that affect us. That’s the first collaboration.
“The second collaboration is that to achieve our goal when this bill becomes a law, all the women in the different political parties will look out for competent female candidates. In our different political parties, we have identified strong women with the capacity and competence to run for these seats. And at the end of the day, we will all have one woman coming out to represent all women when they are voted.
“We have agreed that we will sponsor ourselves to contest for this election irrespective of the political parties we belong to,” the forum’s publicity secretary, Hajiya Sa’adatu Abdullah said. However, to attain the 182 additional seats in the National and State Houses of Assemblies the women seek, they must enlighten their male counterparts and lawmakers who are afraid of being usurped.
“We are ready to assuage their fears by assuring them that we are not usurping anyone’s seat. We are rather asking for special seats for women. And that these seats will be contested for by political parties, and that only women will contest for the seats,” president, Women in Politics Forum, Barr Ebere Ifendu, said.
Ifendu noted that women politicians will deploy their politicians to lobby and enlighten members of their party in the National Assembly to vote in support of the bill, stating, “we have amassed contacts of lawmakers to speak to about the bill.”
Addressing concerns on the preparedness of female candidates to win the votes of grassroots women, Ifendu highlighted their strategy of dialoguing with traditional, religious and cultural leaders, who shape the opinions at the grassroots level.
“We will also be talking with female political candidate to say, “don’t forget the grassroots women. They are the women who actually vote”. Because if they understand why they should vote, they will support the female candidates. We recognize that we need to speak to women in the grassroots. The female candidates need to know they are part of their constituency. They need them because this bill is for every Nigerian,” she said.
Meanwhile, the national youth leader, Labour Party, Prince Kennedy Chigozie, has applauded the women for their inclusion of the youth at the event noting that youth, makeup a strong arm of the women in politics and governance’s constituency.
