Aversion for Women Inclusion an Official Policy of Abia State Govt, Says Activist

• An activist, Pearl Amarachukwu, has decried the level of women’s marginalization in Abia state, saying it is abysmal
• She said under the Okezie Ikpeazu administration, women are oppressed and they are endangered species
• The activist urged women in Abia to arise against any stance of oppression and engage themselves in the democratic calculations of the state's polity

Umuahia - The Abia state government has been accused of adopting distaste for women's inclusion as its official policy.

The allegation was made by an activist, Pearl Amarachukwu, who is also the research executive of Women’s Voices Global Network, Nigeria.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Tuesday, March 15, Amarachukwu stated that apart from the fact that any semblance of development has been missing in Abia, the state government's support for women’s inclusion in governance is non-existent.

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She said the recent outburst by Barr. Eze Chikamnayo, the commissioner for information for Abia state on the deputy chief whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Honorable Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, shows the disdain the Ikpeazu-led government has for women.

Part of the statement read:

“The commissioner obviously lacks cognition and any sense of sanity to spill his unfortunate rantings against the woman who sponsored the extra seat bill for women which raised the bar for women’s rights in Nigeria and seeks to open up the space for women’s participation in politics across the country.

“A bill that is part of the demands been made by the Nigerian women as a result of the failure of the gender bills at the parliament, which has given rise to the mother of all protest by Nigerian women at the gates of the National Assembly for the second week running.

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“It is practical that the state government of Abia has no understanding of its role to the women population in Abia state and no sense of inclusion, After all, Abia is the only southeast state to not have any woman in its state of assembly, an outright shame on the map of the southeast.

“Across the country, women’s voices are been emboldened and given the right of place, we have seen leaders speak out on the injustice of the failure of the bill and the need to empower women.

“Yet, Abia state through its cronies and ill-equipped aide accomplice not only have failed to speak up on the issues at the forefront but also have shown that they do not respect the rights of women and their unequivocal right of association, expression, and engagement.”

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Meanwhile, civil society organisations in Enugu have decried the erasure of women’s voices in political processes in the state.

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Following an exploratory meeting convened recently by TechHerNG with support from the MacArthur Foundation, representatives of over 25 organisations pledged to work together to ensure that the voices and needs of women in the state are platformed and amplified.

Speaking on the need to convene the meeting, Project Lead Achenyo Ochijenu said the purpose of the engagement is to understand the voting patterns, and influences, for women in Enugu state.

2023: Young Professionals launch movement to rescue Nigeria

In a related development, Nigerian youths have been tasked to actively participate in the emergence of credible leaders in the 2023 elections.

This charge was given in Kano state when young professionals on Thursday, March 10 announced the launch of the Green Nigeria Movement (GNM) 2023.

Speaking at the event, convener of the GNM and chairman of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum, Moses Siasia, said the movement is geared towards mobilizing young people across the country in preparation for the 2023 election to raise over 10 million votes for their chosen presidential candidate.

Source: Legit.ng