By Mumini Abdulkareem
Member representing Balogun/Ojomu state constituency of Offa Local Government, Hon Saheed Popoola has blame the women for the male dominated Kwara State legislature.
The 9th Kwara House of Assembly has no female representative among the 24 lawmakers compared to the 8th and 7th with six and five respectively.
Popoola while speaking with National Pilot on the issue noted that it is not that the All Progressives Congress (APC) which dominated the House did not recognise the role of women in the political development of the state but rather the women never believed in the struggle before the election.
“It is not that APC is not gender sensitive but because the women don’t like struggling and the O to ge movement was all about struggle. The women did not participant because they feel we are just wasting our time.
“Out of the 93 people that collected the APC form, only two women came out both from Offa and I was the one that even encouraged them in the whole of Kwara state.
“Women love enjoyment and they felt they done want to participate in the struggle. The issue is like a beauty contest, it’s among the ugly ones that contested that a winner will emerge. The women have not shown they believe in our struggle” he added.
He however, implore the women in the next dispensation to come out en mass and collect forms at all levels so as to be able to achieve and maintain the 35 percent affirmative action for women in the state.
On the speakership tussle before the inauguration of the House, Popoola noted that although he was qualified, he had to drop the ambition following the position of the party adding that there is nothing strange in what has happened.
“The issue is that if you are interested in a position and the party is also interested in their own programme, as a party man you have to align with the decision of the party which is what I have done. The party’s position was that there were three senatorial zones in the state and it cannot afford to close its door to a particular senatorial zone. There are three major positions of the governorship, deputy governor and speakership which have to be shared among the three districts. And as a party man, I need to toe the line of the party”.
“I never insisted that I wanted to be the speaker, by the position of the law, I was entitled as the only ranking member and people believe I am fit for it, but at times you bend the laws in line with party arrangement and exigencies and I am very much happy with my decision. I want to assure everybody that I will be a good party man and work along with the leadership of the speaker to make sure there is no rancour in the house”, he added.
On the process of suspension of LG chairmen, the two time lawmaker said there is nothing wrong with what the House has done which has “precedence”.
