A gender based Non-Governmental Organisation under the aegis of Coalition of Women Associations in Kwara State has raised the alarm over an attempt to marginalize and infringe on the rights of women in politics.
Membership of the group composed of professional women associations such including, Nigeria Women of Journalists, (NAWOJ), Medical Women Association of Nigeria, (MWAN), Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, (APWEN), Women in Taxation, Women Pharmacists, Women Bag Makers, Women Bead Makers, International Women Communication Centre, (IWCC), FOMWAN and WOWICAN among others.
At a press conference held in Ilorin on Tuesday, the group appealed for support for the only elected female member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Mariam Joy Adeniran, to retain her mandate.
Spokesperson of the group, Ayobola Olupinla, in her address said: “we are unhappy with the recent development of an attempt to shut out the feelings for adequate gender consideration in the scheme of governance as far as the state is concerned in the incoming political dispensation.
“Specifically, the outcome of the election for the Essa/Shawo/Igbodun constituency of the Kwara State House of Assembly in Offa was keenly contested and won by Hon. Mariam Joy Adeniran to become the only female member-elect of the 24-member Assembly. As one of us, we are proud of her for the courage, resilience and doggedness she took to participate in the poll but with her victory, she only represents just 4.16 percent of the membership strength as against the 2014 percent women-membership of the outgoing Assembly which has five members. The percentage grossly negates the 35 percent as recommended by the United Nations (UN) for women slot in elective and appointive positions in governments globally.
She said there is no single woman among the six elected members of the Federal House of Representatives and the three Senators-elect in Kwara during the last general election.
Olupinla however stressed that, “Our attention has been drawn to an attempt to cause injury on the women folk by struggling to use the court to snatch the mandate of Hon. Mariam Joy Adeniran thereby relegating us to the lowest ebb and allocating zero percent to females in the incoming lawmaking process.
“While we reject the Appeal Court judgment of 5th April, 2019, we call on the National Leadership of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) as well as the State Working Committee of the Kwara APC, to prevail on the plaintiff in the suit seeking to remove the only female Member-Elect in the Kwara House of Assembly.
“We believe this is an arrangement possible within the APC in a bid to seeing the current scenario beyond 2019.
“By this, we plead with the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, Nigeria’s First Lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Kwara Governor-elect, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and other state and national executive of the party.
This would certainly not be the best way to reward our loyalty. We therefore call on the entire political actors globally to intervene on our behalf in this matter and reverse every step aimed at removing or replacing Hon. Mariam Joy Adeniran as the Member-Elect for Essa/Shawo/Igbodun Constituency of Offa Local Government Area of Kwara
State before May 29, 2019.
In her remark, Hon. Mariam Joy Adeniran thanked the coalition for the show of concern and solidarity stressing that, “the action will not only protect the right of one of them, but will also secure the future for the women folk and future of females yet unborn.”
Adeniran further disclosed that, “I have been a grassroot politician for many years haven contested and won election to become a Councillor representing Shawo South-East and emerged as the Speaker for Offa Local Government Area on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN).
“I have also served as Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Rural Development, Special Assistant to the Governor on Social Support Services and Member Governing Council of the College of Education (Technical) Lafiagi from where I resigned to contest election into the Kwara State House Assembly.
