A human rights activist and secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Benue State, Barr. Mtemdoo Gbagyo, has appealed to the Benue State governor-elect Revd. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia to end the marginalisation of women by including more of them in his cabinet for better results.
Gbagyo who made the appeal in Makurdi, the state capital decried the marginalisation of women in the political sphere of the state, saying of the 43 members- elect for the state House of Assembly and National Assembly (NASS), only four are women.
The legal practitioner who also advocated for a piece of legislation to protect women, said the four women among 39 men was not even up to the 35 percent affirmative action advocated for, saying this clearly shows that “we are not supporting our women to have a voice in the governance of the state.”
He appealed to the 10th NASS and state Assembly to consider enacting a law that will remove all political barriers against women to ensure their inclusion in governance at all levels.
“Women are peace builders and good managers anywhere and they need the support of all and sundry to be in governance at all levels, out of the 32 members elect for the State House of Assembly only two women are elected and of the 11 members of the National Assembly only two women are elected, and for this I am appealing to the legislatures to appropriate a legal framework that will allocate particular number of seats at all level of governance as it is done in other countries.”
Gbagyo who is also the state United Nations (UN) secretary of He-for-She, said Nigeria as part of the Benji Conference in 1995 and Maputo Protocol and by the provision of section 12 of the Nigerian Constitution should go beyond 35 per cent affirmative action.
“Nigeria is also a member of the United Nations that established the UN Women, with the sole responsibility of driving gender inclusion and is also part of the decision that led to the UN Women Resolution 1325 on peace and security. Till the 2023 elections, particularly in Benue, of the 32 members of the House of Assembly, only two are women and of the 11 National Assembly members, only two are women, which is not good for us as a state and country.
“Let me also call on both men and women to support the few women in leadership positions across the country. It is quite a step in the right direction for those who are already doing this, however, we can do better,” he said.
On the other hand, Gbagyo decried the rise of human right abuses and violations on women in the state, saying, this should be condemned headlong, irrespective of social, political or economic background.
While calling on the incoming government to consider women inclusion for gender balance, Gbagyo charged it to pay attention to the issue of security and peace building in the state by leveraging on the efforts of federal government, international organisation, experts in civil society organisations (CSOs), the press and the public at large so as to overcome the enormous security issues.
Gbagyo also congratulated the outgoing administration of Governor Samuel Ortom for doing its best for the state and prayed for a hitch-free inauguration on May 29, 2023.
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