The Chairperson, League of Women Voters in Nigeria, Ekiti State chapter, Mrs Olufunke Martins-Adetoye, has lauded the Action Democratic Party for the choice of a woman as its governorship candidate and the All Progressives Congress for nominating a female as its running mate in the June 18 election in the state.
Martins-Adetoye said the action of the two parties was in line with the league’s position that “where one gender is in a political office, the assistant or vice should be the other gender” and an admission of the fact that “our women are now well educated and capable and can hold their own at all levels. Give us our dues”.
The NILOWV boss, who spoke in Ado Ekiti at a conference with the theme, ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow,’ as part of activities to mark the 2022 International Women’s Day, called on the female gender to support women.
She said, “We salute the courage of the ADP governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Mrs Kemi Elebute-Haile, for coming out for the governorship seat. We also hail the APC for the nomination of a woman, Mrs Monisade Afuye, as the deputy governorship candidate. These and other higher places are where we want women and they will get our support”.
Martins-Adetoye, who called on men to allow women have their due, said, “There will be no meaningful elections without women. More women in governance will only bring progress and respect for Nigeria in the committee of nations”.
She urged the electorate in Ekiti State, particularly women to resist the temptation of vote-buying, saying, “Ekiti women should try as much as possible to vote for their conscience so that at the end of the day, we will truly have good governance. Enough of vote-buying. The concept of taking some money to mortgage the future of our children is not a good one”.
Martins-Adetoye, who said Nigerian women were tired of tokenism, said, “On this occasion, we raise our voice to break the bias against women by demanding equity development and peace; unachievable without equal women representation”.
She added, “The objective of the league is to promote in all its ramifications the empowerment of women, explore ways of encouraging and assisting them to develop economically by stimulating them towards entrepreneurial skills and as well as accelerating their representation and participation in government and corporate bodies”.
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