As the elections of the leadership of the yet-to-be-inaugurated 10th National Assembly draw closer, the Executive Director of the Adinya Arise Foundation (AAF), a non-profit organisation, Mabel Ade, has called for an adequate representation of women in the exercise.
Ms Ade made this known in a statement addressed to President Bola Tinubu and the First Lady, Remi Tinubu, and sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.
The gender advocate reiterated the need to increase female representation in Nigeria’s leadership roles.
She said: “Despite our female population accounting for approximately 49% of Nigeria’s total populace, only a fraction of seats in parliament are held by women. This unsettling statistic drastically falls short of the 35% affirmative action outlined by the National Gender Policy in 2006 and the global average of 25.5%.
“Distressingly, Nigeria ranks 139 out of 156 countries on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, emphasising the immense disparity between men and women in our society. As the elections for the Speaker/Deputy Speaker positions in the National Assembly approach, AAF advocates for a substantial increase in female representation”.
According to her, electing more women into these crucial roles would enrich decision-making processes, foster gender-responsive governance, and inspire more women and girls to aspire to leadership roles.
To the President, she said: “We are therefore calling for an unopposed candidacy of a woman as Deputy Speaker, if not Speaker, as a minimum step towards achieving gender parity in politics.
“We need your advocacy and support as a respected leader and a champion of women’s rights. We kindly urge you to use your influence to lobby other influential individuals to support a female candidacy in the upcoming election.”
Ms Ade also appealed to the First Lady, who has served as a Senator since 2011, to use her experience and influence to advocate for a woman to assume one of these influential roles.
“Hon. Princess Miriam, a member of your party, is an ideal candidate we recommend for her competence, dedication, and alignment with the values you have consistently upheld during your service in the National Assembly”, she said.
She said the reason for the advocacy is that the effects of the gender gap are evident in the myriad of challenges that women face in our society, such as maternal and child mortality, poverty, gender-based violence, and food insecurity.
“These issues are often neglected or poorly addressed by policies and programmes that are largely designed and implemented by men, without adequate consultation or participation of women”, she added.
The 10th National Assembly will be inaugurated on 13 June. The new leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives is expected to emerge on the same day.
Meanwhile, none of the lawmakers-elect endorsed by the Presidency and the ruling APC for the positions of Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker is a female.
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Since the country returned to civil rule in 1999, a female legislator, Patricia Etteh, has only emerged as the Speaker once.
Mrs Etteh was elected the Speaker in June 2007 but was impeached in October of the same year following an accusation of contract fraud. She was replaced by Dimeji Bankole.
No woman has either been senate president or deputy senate president for the past 23 years.
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