The Ondo state First Lady believes that females are being marginalised, especially in issues around politics and decision-making.
Prominent Nigerians and organisations are calling for the inclusion of more women in governance.
Despite efforts to improve women’s participation in governance, female representation in government has continued to decline in Nigeria.
In that light, the wife of the Ondo state governor, Betty Akeredolu, is demanding that slots for deputy governors in Nigeria should be reserved for women alone.
According to her, this exclusion would help to promote gender inclusion.
“We demand that the deputy governorship slots of all the 36 states in Nigeria be exclusively reserved for women,” Betty says.
Also, she adds that this would help women also “have a voice like the men”.
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“We are uniquely gifted by God.
“Why are we being suppressed? Nobody should be less empathetic about this serious issue.
”Women need to be delivered from socio-economic extinction,” the First Lady adds.
Underrepresentation Of Women
The Ondo state First Lady believes that women are being marginalised, especially in issues around politics and decision-making, despite achieving great feats globally.
“Look at the likes of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is currently the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the late Dora Akunyili, and of course, the legendary Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
“These are great women of substance who have the wherewithal to effect change.
“Unfortunately, the efforts of the several women bodies including Nigeria Council of Women Society (NCWS) have yielded little or no good results because of the marginalisation meted out to them.
“It is high time this was put to a permanent stop,” Akeredolu declares.
Furthermore, she decries what she regards as the under-representation of women in the just concluded Imo state presidential and House of Assembly elections.
While Akeredolu makes this request, she wants women to become more active in politics.
