Ahead of the 2023 general election, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has promised the electorate of ensuring the implementation of affirmative action for women, youths and people with disabilities, PWDs, if voted into office as the President.
Obi made this remark during the public presentation of a social contract document codenamed, ‘Governance Agenda for Inclusive Nigeria GAIN)’, in Abuja on Wednesday, highlighting the critical role of women in national development.
The GAIN proposal was jointly put together by the YouthHub Africa, the Inclusive Friends Association and the Women in Politics Forum, with support from the National Democratic Institute, NDI, and the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, with aim of requesting candidates in the 2023 elections to adopt the prioritise of women, youths and PWDS as contained in the social contract.
The LP standard bearer, who appended his signature to the GAIN proposal, recollected that as governor of Anambra State, his administration achieved close to a 60-40 gender balance in appointive and elective positions while the Federal Government’s proposed affirmative action was around 30 to 35 per cent. According to him, female representations in his government will be assured.
The ex-governor said, “We can’t talk about the development of any society without being inclusive of the three, call it sectors. We cannot talk about development without women, youths, and PWDs. For me in particular, women are the most productive parts of society.
“We need to get them more and more involved, but for a society like Nigeria, we need to insist on affirmative action. I don’t think we can discuss it until people agree to do it. We need to make sure it is documented. When it is the law, everybody will follow through with it.”
In the same vein, the Vice-Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Bishop Isaac Idahosa, who represented his principal, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, at the event said the party had a solid plan for women, if chosen by Nigerians to form the next government in 2023.
He also signed the GAIN document on Kwankwaso’s behalf, warning that anyone who intends to undermine women in government would be doing so at his own peril.
According to him, “Women have been relegated to the background until now. And we are now coming with a new Nigerian purposeful leadership that is concerned with bringing inclusivity to our government. And anyone that undermines women, is to his own peril.
“We have a whole lot, total package for women. But affirmative action is determined by how many women have already been involved. We are going to use what we have to improve on the involvement of women in government and governance.”
Earlier, the President of Women in Politics Forum, Barr. Ebere Ifendo, explained that the document represented what women, youth and PWD groups wanted from the government, adding that anyone who undermined the groups, was not interested in winning the 2023 elections.
According to her, “In elections, you see that 50.82% women actually registered to vote, which shows that Nigerian women this time will determine who will win the election. Youth is about 60%, persons with disabilities make up about 25 million.
So, for three groups like that to come together, it shows that we are a very strong and formidable group. So anyone that undermines us really will show the person is not ready to win an election in 2023”
She further disclosed that the GAIN document is a collection of recommendations from the three marginalised groups, obtained through key informant interviews with 2,055 persons across the 36 states and the FCT.
Also speaking, Senior Program Officer, National Democratic Institute, Bem Aga, said the implementation and the demand for accountability from the candidates who had signed the agenda, was up to the public, noting that women, youth and PWD groups had the numbers.
“Women, youth, persons with disabilities, and internally displaced persons alone constitute about 70% of people in the just concluded Continuous Voter Registration Process.
Numbers have power in constitutional democracy. If the promises are not kept, every four years the elections are held, so it will be up to the people again, to look at candidates who kept the promises, and candidates who did not keep their promises, and decide what to do”.
Aga added that the document will be sent to all candidates of the 2023 elections to sign across the National, State and Local Government levels, with the hope that they will implement the recommendations when they get into government.
