Nigerian women has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to priotize appointing at least 50% of ministerial and management positions as women in his government.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of a public interest dialogue organised by Change Managers International Network in collaboration with the 100 Women Lobby Group.
Reading the communique the Coordinator Felicia Onibon, said the country should be compliant with the United Nations position on gender diversity in govrnance, particularly its own National Gender Policy (NGP).
She regretted that women have continued to be marginalised in the nation’s political and executive governance structure, noting that women make up only 4% of the incoming 9th National and state Assembly.
“7 out of 109 in the Senate(6%), 11 out of 360 House of Representatives (3%) and 40 of the 774 in the state aasemblies(5%). This is the lowest since the returnnof democracy in 1999.
“This regressive trend is very disappointing to the millions of Nigerian women who also represent 50% of the nations general and voting population,” she said.
It is also troubling for the general social and economic development of the country, especially given that over 40% of the population lives in poverty, majority of them being women and children; and that studies have shown a positive development correlation between an increase in the number of women in governance and the improvement in those countries human development index.
“We therefore demand that 50% of appointments at federal and state levels, to ministerial, commissioner, board chair and membérships, chief executives of ministerial departments and agencies be given to women from accross the nation’s regional diversity,” she added.
The Action Aid International Head of Country Support Africa Ojobo Atuluku, stressed that with men alone in governance the country is incomplete.
She called on President Buhari to midwife the space for women in public leadership and in executive governance, saying he has the powers to achieve this if he is committed to that.
