Revisit gender inclusion legislation, Kwara gov urges National Assembly

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has promised to champion national advocacy for a constitutional amendment to deepen gender inclusion in Nigerian laws.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the University of Ilorin chapter of the National Association of Political Science Students on Wednesday, the governor urged the National Assembly to revisit the proposed gender parity legislation for a more inclusive society.

The governor spoke on the theme ‘Breaking Barriers to Women Participation in Politics and Governance in Nigeria: Kwara as a case study’, according to a statement by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaye, on Thursday.

The governor recalled that his decision to give voice to women, including signing legislation to make it a permanent feature of the political space, was to ensure that women are not shut out of the decision-making process in the state.

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“We will try our best to push that agenda going forward. We will encourage other states to go along this time through a constitutional amendment,” AbdulRazaq told newsmen on the sideline of the public lecture and launching of Classic Magazine of the National Association of Political Science Students, University of Ilorin chapter.

“It is a good thing that the National Association of Political Science Students puts this lecture together. It is part of deepening SDG 5. We are able to pass a (Gender Composition) law. We will make sure that in the 10th assembly, it is tabled again for an amendment to make sure that SDG 5 is attained.

“The passion for gender parity in governance is for the administration to be more committed to what we are doing. If you look at 2019, especially in Kwara, there was no single female elected member at both national and state assemblies from here.

“Today, we can say that we have been able to push that agenda, and the people of Kwara State have elected five women into the state assembly. That is very good, coming from zero to five.”

He added that a major boost for gender inclusion would be for development partners to introduce some programmes-for results, which reward any governments that prioritise women’s political empowerment.