The national women leader of the Labour Party (LP), Dudu Mamman Manuga, has urged Nigerians especially women to vote for the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi.
Manuga who disclosed this during a press conference held yesterday in Abuja, said a vote for Obi will bring about massive inclusion of women in government if he emerges as president.
Emphasizing that women in Nigeria have always suffered relegation, she said Obi’s presidential manifesto lucidly spells out a place for women if he emerges.
“Let us understand that women in Nigeria have always been relegated to the background. Women have not been given their space, the space that they need to occupy in different spheres of life.
“In some societies in this country, women are considered second-class citizens, who should not even have a voice. When it comes to development issues, women seem to always be at the receiving end of the negativities. So, what is Peter Obi telling us about his manifesto and how does that apply to Nigerian women?
“And, like he always says, there are people that have applied to be the CEOs in Nigeria, and we the people of Nigeria, are the ones to decide whether we accept the application and want to engage them as the CEOs over this country or not one person out of all of them is going to be the CEO.”
“I want to tell Nigerian women why Peter should be the CEO and for them to understand that this is a CEO that when he comes in because of his antecedents. We know he’s the women’s president. We know you will be that president that will support women that will allow them to be who they’re supposed to be in Nigeria”, she said.
Stressing the need for peace in Nigeria, she explained that insecurity has negatively affected the livelihood of women in the country, assuring that the obi-datti ticket promises peace and progress for them.
“Peter and Datti Baba Ahmed as I have said will end banditry and unite the country talking about security, talking about peace. When there is peace and security in Nigeria, the women in Nigeria will be able to do what they need to do in their day-to-day lives.
“We know of a lot of women now, especially in the north, Northeast, Northwest, and Northcentral Who are now in IDP camps because of insecurity in the land, they have had to live where they are, they have had to go to other new places and live lives way below what they were used to because they’re no longer living in houses, a lot of them are now living in tents, or small rooms, in the IDP camps. When there is security in the land, every woman will be in her home, every woman will be able to pursue her day-to-day activities as she should be doing.
“Whatever you want to do in life, if there is no peace there is no security, Nigerian women need to stand with Peter Obi and Datti Baba Ahmed.
Speaking on Obi’s plan to drive policies that would better the dwindling state of Nigeria’s economy, she said: “There is a promise to shift Nigeria from consumption to production. This will create jobs for women and their children. A lot of women are into production on the farm, and a lot of women are into production, in the small scale industry.
“Now, when there is the attention given to production in the land, we know that a lot of women will be able to benefit from this, and their businesses will prosper. Their businesses will blossom. Jobs will be created for not just women but also their children.
“And we know that for us women, one of the things that is uppermost in our minds is always our children. And when there is production in the land, or when jobs are created, we know that our children will get jobs and that will take a lot of tension off our mind and our mind will be at ease knowing that our children are properly engaged.”
On corruption, she reiterated Obi’s agenda to strictly entrench the rule of law, beat down the cost of governance, and create an efficient civil service.
While beaming the spate of rape cases in the country, she assured that the Peter Obi-lead administration would address loopholes in the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP, Act, and ensure full domestication of the Act across states.
She hinted also that the Obi manifesto would put in place infrastructures to adequately address issues bothering: power, transportation, water resources, and primary health care centers, among others.
