The House of
Representatives Committees on Women In Parliament and Women Affairs, have
demanded for 50% of elective positions for women in the country. The United
Nations affirmative action document, seeks at least 35% political
representation for women, but the Committees at a Summit in Abuja, entitled:
“Women Week Roundtable”, organised by the Committee on Women In Parliament,
headed by Rep. Taiwo Oluga(Osun-APC), PLAC and the European Union, the
lawmakers said 50%, should be the minimum in the next general election, in line
with the 1999 Constitution.
Rep. Taiwo Oluga in her address regretted that women were
facing extremely strenuous hurdles to representing their communities in
Parliament, as she urged for radical reforms. In her presentation, Rep. Wunmi
Onanuga stressed that instead of the 30% Affirmative action plan, which is yet
to be attained, the country should scale it up in the next 2023 polls, in line
with the constitutional requirement of “equality among genders”.
Earlier in her speech, Mrs Oluga who acknowledged the quality
representation of Deputy Whip of the House, Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who was
also at the event, urged political parties and the government to do more for
the female gender. “From the theme of this Roundtable Discussion, it is
important that there is need to improve women’s participation in politics and
governance in Nigeria. The Theme is in itself is an admission of low level of
their participation in politics”, she said. According to her, ” the whole
essence is to create awareness on the need to improve women participation in
politics in Nigeria at all |eve|s of governance, identify factors militating
against their participation in politics in Nigeria and come up with an
achievable action plan on how to improve women’s participation in politics in
Nigeria”. She regretted that “Despite Nigeria‘s Gender Policy and its
Commitment to the Global Affirmative Action, the National Average of Women
Participation in Politics has never exceeded 6.7% of both elective and
appointive positions in the country”, adding that “this is far below the global
average of 22.3%, the West African Regional Average of 15% and the African
Regional Average of 23.4%”. Source: By Tordue Salem – Abuja (Vanguard News Nigeria).