A coalition of 168 women groups have protested against what they described as the 87 per cent male-dominated ministerial list presented to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to them, the male domination contravenes the principle of equity in terms of the numbers, spread, roles and location in governance and government by female nominees.
“We insist that the inclusion of constituents is actually an indispensable strategy for stemming the multi-faceted dimensions of political, social and economic crises facing Nigeria”, the coalition said.
They demanded that the Senators should “speak up and challenge government at all levels on the matter of women’s inclusion.”
The position of the women was contained in a memo to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, entitled, ‘Protest letter on the unequal representation of women, youth and People Living With Disabilities in the President’s ministerial list submitted to the Senate’ made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, July 25, 2019.
The document was signed by renowned gender activist and Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi; Convener, Women in Politics Forum, Ms. Ebere Ifendu; Founder of 100 Women Lobby Group, Dr. Felicia Onibon; Chief Executive of Gender and Development Action, Dr. Nkoyo Toyo and CEO of Nigeria Women Trust Fund, Hajiya Mufuliat Fijabi.
Other signatories included Kudirat Initiative for Democracy; Christian Women in Nigerian Politics; Nigerian League of Women Voters; Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives and Education as A Vaccine.
The letter read in part, “We view with dismay and utter disappointment the 87 per cent male dominated ministerial list presented to the Senate by Mr. President. This list maintains and reinforces the historical exclusion of women in the country, ignores the youth and people living with disabilities and thus inhibits the critical goal of achieving meaningful, equitable and participatory national development.
“The list submitted by Mr. President reneges on the repeated campaign promises by his government and creates a crisis of confidence in the integrity of our elected political leadership.”
“Therefore, we write to convey a clear message of national importance to the nation, Mr. President, the legislature and those nominated as ministers. We wish to remind you about the unavoidable consequences of failing to use the appointment exercise as a tool to steer the affairs of country towards a desirable and sustainable future. Such a future is as conceived by well received and established best practices and obligations arising from the 2030 Global Agenda of the United Nations.”
The women urged the Senate President, lawmakers and other decision makers, “to remember the weighty privilege the nation entrusts to the few chosen to serve Nigeria as ministers.”
They also reminded the Senators charged with the responsibility of screening the nominees for ministerial appointment that more than any other moment in Nigerian history, they had a responsibility to the citizens to act diligently in terms of their engagement with these nominees.
The protest letter reads further, “We ask that Senate draws the attention of the president and governors to Nigeria’s commitment to several national and international obligations such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which specifically put an onus on Nigeria to dramatically improve on its embarrassing levels of inequality.
“We ask that Senate note in particular, that 30-35 per cent has been reserved in some national policy documents, and that within our national laws, there are provisions that categorically call for the inclusion of youth (not too young to run) and persons with disabilities. We ask Senate to recall and operationalise the provisions of the 2006 National Gender Policy and the constitution of the ruling All Progressives Congress on these issues.”
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