…says Commission is deepening gender equality, representation, relevance, empowerment
MARGARET CHIDERA
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has charged the National Assembly to prioritise the 35 percent affirmative action in electoral reform process to ensure adequate representation of women in elective positions.
He noted that the legislators have to give parliamentary backing to the agitation for implementation of the affirmative action.
Prof. Yakubu spoke at the event commemorating the 2024 International Women Day at the INEC headquarters on Friday.
He said he will be ready to be part of the advocacy for affirmative action because INEC has demonstrated practical commitment to deepening gender equality, representation, relevance, empowerment and a sense of belonging.
Yakubu said “the Commission is aware of the concern raised by Nigerians about the low level of gender representation in elective positions nationwide. The Commission shares this concern and we have consistently been urging political parties to redress the obvious under-representation of women, youths and persons with disability by nominating more of them as candidates for elections.
“To accelerate progress in this regard, I will go as far as calling on the National Assembly to introduce affirmative action as part of the electoral reforms that will ensure greater representation of women, youths and persons with disability in elective offices nationwide. In the weeks ahead, the Commission will engage with the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters on this and other areas of reform.”
The Commission, he said, has developed and validated its gender policy with the full support of all stakeholders. We have also been dutifully implementing the gender policy in a practical way.
“It is not by coincidence that the two successive Secretaries to the Commission are women. Furthermore, the present Commission deliberately created a whole Department of Gender and Inclusivity in 2021 dedicated to the promotion of inclusive representation in the workplace and the electoral process. Today, out of 24 Departments and Directorates at the Commission’s Headquarters, 11 (representing 46%) are headed by women.
“We also have women serving as Administrative Secretaries in our State offices and Heads of various Departments at State level. There is also no State in Nigeria without women serving as Electoral Officers (EOs) in charge of our Local Government Offices.
“In addition to Departmental and other responsibilities, the Commission has also built and equipped a Crèche for the convenience of staff of all categories who are nursing mothers. By coincidence, the Crèche will be commissioned shortly as part of the activities for this year’s International Women’s Day. Our intention is to extend such facility to our state offices as funds permit.
The chairman thanked The Electoral Hub and, in particular, its Director, Princess Hamman-Obels, for collaborating with the Commission in many areas, including the celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day.
