By Taiye Odewale
Abuja
President of ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA), Senator Stella Oduah, declared yesterday that women held the key to development of West Africa.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja , Oduah said women constituted the larger population in the sub-region and could not be left aside in developmental moves.
According to her, participation of women in the politics of West Africa was still very low and needed to change.
She said women were capable of contesting and holding any political office in the sub-region adding that women should not play second fiddle but must rise up to the occasion and participate in politics to developing Africa.
“It did not make sense to disrespect or disregard women who constituted about 60 per cent of the population of the sub-region.
“West Africa cannot attain its intended developmental strides without the involvement and participation of women in politics and policy making and implementation.
“You lose their strength, their brilliance, their contributions and you lose their participation,” she said.
She, therefore, charged fellow female parliamentarians as well as the male counterparts to be advocates of women participation in politics and development – driven programmes and as well call for level playing field for all players in the politics of the region across all the countries.
“When that happens, the best of the women will emerge; women and men will vote for the female not because she is a female, but because she is the right candidate for that job.”
