Gregory Ibe and a leading 2023 governorship contender in Abia State, has lampooned the National Assembly for its inability to support women affirmation action, by voting in favour of alteration to some gender-related bills during the recent Constitution amendment exercise.
Ibe was reacting to the failure of members of the two chambers of the NASS to successfully pass Bill 35, which sought for the provision of special seats for women in the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly and Bill 37, targeted at ensuring affirmative action for women in Political Party administration.
He decried the missed opportunity of integrating the female folks into mainstream of Nigerian Politics through legislation.
According to him, ”While commending both the upper and lower chambers for due diligence in amending some contentious sections of the Constitution, I however see their inability to overwhelmingly vote in favour of Bills 35 and 37 respectively as a regrettable missed opportunity that will seriously hurt our politics in future. In fact, by this action, the nation missed a great opportunity of handling our daughters, sisters, wives and mothers an early International Women’s Day gift and setting a new agenda with brand new roles for female participation in forth coming 2023 elections”
He therefore, appealed to members of the 36 state Houses of Assembly to correct the anomaly by voting in support of gender Bills that encourage women affirmative action.
His words: “While enjoining Nigerian women not to lose hope, I want to urge honourable members of State Houses of Assembly across the country to as a matter of urgent national importance, rise to the occasion by vetoing the apparent gender insensitive resolutions of the National Assembly when the exercise gets to the floor of their chambers as required by law. On our part, we shall continue to work with civil society organizations and other development partners to ensure the enactment to increase advocacy while mobilizing massively to ensure enactment of women friendly laws, especially in Abia State.”
Many reactions have continued to trail the recent failure of NASS to vote in favour of some bills seeking to promote gender balancing by expanding political participation for women in Nigeria during Constitution amendments exercise that took place recently.
