Court ruling on 35% affirmative action for women:

Since the judgment Wednesday, by the Federal High Court in Abuja ordering the government to comply with the 35percent affirmative action for women, which allows women occupy 35 percent of all appointments, there have been reactions from women leaders across the country.

They have called on the Federal Government to, without delay, obey the court ruling by implementing the affirmative action.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Donatus Okorowo, said the Federal Government had the obligation to implement the 35 percent affirmative action, accusing past governments of acting in breach of international treaties on women’s participation in government.

Justice Okorowo added that the National Gender Policy is not merely a policy statement, but one that must be backed with requisite action on the part of the government.

He said the 35percent affirmative action which entails appointive positions for women to ensure inclusivity must not be merely on paper as Nigeria is a signatory to international treaties, particularly on those entrenching the rights of women.

Speaking on Channels Television morning programme Thursday, in reaction to the court ruling, Ene Obi, country director, ActionAid Nigeria, said it was a positive development. When asked if she was optimistic about government heeding the judgment, Obi said she was not in a position to speak for the government.

She explained that the government had been shying away from implementing even though Nigeria is a signatory to the Beijing Charter.

She recalled that 25 years after Nigeria signed the Beijing Declaration on 35 percent Affirmative Action on women inclusion in policymaking, election, and appointment, nothing positive has been done in that regard.

Obi particularly expressed disappointment that despite the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari, during his campaign, promised to give 40 percent appointments in his government to women, up till now the percentage of appointments remains abysmal and frustrating.

The Country Director has been vocal in her condemnation of the poor implementation of 35 percent Affirmative Action in Nigeria, decried the under-representation of the women folk in governance in the country.

At a recent workshop on ‘Strengthening State Level Institutional Capacities to Enhance Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peace and Security in Nigeria’ held in Karu, Nasarawa State, Obi had expressed displeasure over the poor treatment meted out to Nigerian women in terms of elective positions and appointments in public offices including being worst hit by current insecurity challenges in the country.

She observed that women’s voice in terms of national issues remains at the stifled, including issues, directly and indirectly, affecting them.

Mufuliat Fijabi, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, who also reacted to the judgment on the Channels Television programme, said: “For us, this is a victory and we know that the government will acknowledge this and do the needful in terms of ensuring that we have a balanced system of governance that will bring about fast development for the country.”

This marks a step closer to victory for women who had been pushing against the rejection of gender-related bills by lawmakers in the ongoing constitution review process.

One of the bills titled ‘Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for Special Seat for Women in the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for Related Matters’ failed after 208 members out of 290 present, voted against it in March

Since then, various women groups occupied the gate of the National Assembly in protest against the rejection.

Betta Edu, National Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has hailed the Federal High Court, Abuja judgment that ordered the Federal Government to enforce the National Gender Policy by allotting 35 percent of appointments in the public sector to women.

APC Woman Leader said her party has already gone beyond the court judgment on the 35% affirmative action by making nomination forms free for women contesting for the various elective offices in country.

“It is one thing to have a judgment; it is another thing to have that party poised to implement. Before we read about the court ruling our party had already mainstreamed women.

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“We had already given out forms for free to women to ensure that the affirmative action comes to be. Because you can give women the affirmative action of 35percent and yet they do not even have the funds to contest in the first place. If they are not coming out to contest then the position must be filled by someone else,” Edu said.

“That is why the party has gone beyond 35percent affirmative action. We are no longer at that level, we have passed that level. We are offering the Nigerian woman something that is greater than the 35percent affirmative action.
“We are giving them a seat at the table; mainstreaming, a platform that you can be certain that you will emerge as the winner of that election. The ball is in our court to go all out and sensitise all women to run, get elected and perform exceptionally well while in office because that will be the ticket for the next woman who is waiting in the line to get into an elective position and appointive position,” she further said.

Akande-Sadipe who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora told BusinessDay that she shares in the feelings of all Nigerians who champion the cause of women emancipation.

She said: “My reaction is the reaction of every well meaning Nigerian. Females are 50percent of our population; we should be allowed to contribute to the socio economic growth of our nation in all spheres.”

Akande-Sadipe, a female lawmaker, who represents Oluyole Federal Constituency of Ogun State, added the judgment would give women the chance to occupy positions that would enable them contribute their quota to the development of the country.

A non-governmental organisation, Women in Politics Forum (WIPF) had filed the suit against the Nigerian government, seeking the implementation of the 35 per cent Affirmative Action in appointments of women into public office.

Delivering judgment on the suit on Wednesday, the Presiding Judge, Donatus Okorowo ruled that Nigerian women had been subjected to various forms of discrimination concerning appointments into key positions of government.

Referencing Section 42 of the Nigerian constitution as it relates to the suit, the judge upheld the plaintiff’s contention to the effect “that of all the 44 ministries, there are only about six female gender, and that the situation is worse in other MDAs and agencies.”

The House of Representatives had during the consideration of the Constitution amendment, approved a Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide a Minimum Percentage for Women in Ministerial or Commissioner Nominees; and for Related Matters.

The Green Chamber has also slated for reconsideration, Bills for Acts to alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for Affirmative Action for Women in Political Party Administration; expand the Scope of Citizenship by Registration and provide Criteria for Qualification to become an Indigene of a State in Nigeria.

The House had initially voted against those Bill, the action which forced women hundreds of of women to besiege the National Assembly, blocking the main entrance to the nation’s Parliament edifice for weeks.