By Udora Orizu
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has advocated the inclusion of provisions in the country’s constitution to guarantee a more equal society where both men and women could contribute to the country’s development.
Gbajabiamila spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the opening of a two-day retreat on Achieving Gender Equity in the Constitution Review Process, organised by the Office of the Speaker in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute.
He noted that doing so was the only way Nigeria could achieve the success it desired, saying that women in particular should be free to pursue their highest aspirations and achieve their maximum potential.
The Speaker stated that there was no better time to push for the protection of the rights of women than now that the National Assembly was reviewing the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He explained that such practical steps must include giving girls and women more access to education, healthcare, commerce and participation in politics.
He urged the participants to use the opportunity of the retreat to dissect the Electoral Act and the constitution to identify for excision so that actions would be taken to include provisions that guarantee a more equal society for all.
Gbajabiamila assured his audience that the 9th House under his leadership would act on the recommendations of the retreat.
In her remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs, Hon. Onanuga Adewunmi Oriyomi, said both the constitution and the Electoral Act needed re-engineering to reflect equity.
She said: “This, among other things, is the crux of this retreat. It is my hope that this event inspires ideas and discussions around ways to improve gender integration mechanisms and systems that can be adopted into the amendment of both the Nigerian constitution and the Electoral Act.”
On her part, the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, observed that Nigeria, the ‘Giant of Africa’, appeared left behind in recognising and granting equal opportunities to women to participate in governance.
She cited the case of the 3.8 per cent representation of women in all the legislative houses in Nigeria, which she said was not good enough.
The minister said the demand of women in Nigeria remained 35 per cent representation in elective and appointive positions.