By Gift Olivia Samuel, The Sight News
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the 2024 International Women’s Day, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has called 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.
The INEC Chairman who made this call on Friday at an event organized by the Commission to mark the Day, explained that 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.
He explained that, “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”.
Speaking on the Commission’s efforts in deepening gender equality, he stated that, “As an equal opportunity employer, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is delighted to join the rest of the world to celebrate this auspicious occasion not in a symbolic way but as a practical affirmation of our commitment to deepening gender equality, representation, relevance, empowerment and a sense of belonging.
“The main theme of this year’s celebration is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress” while the campaign theme is “Inspire Inclusion”. Inclusion, in particular, has been a focal area of our commitment covering gender, youths and persons with disability. For this reason, the Commission has since 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.
“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 a facility to our state offices as funds permit”, he remarked.
In his welcome address, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, National Commissioner and Chairman, Outreach and Partnership Committee (OPC), noted that INEC is glad to join the global community to celebrate the monumental contributions that women have made in all critical spheres of life, particularly in the areas of governance, democracy and politics.
He further said that the International Women’s Day not only marks the pursuit of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) at the continental and global levels, it also celebrates the achievements, impacts and successes of women at every level.
Ajayi announced that the event with the theme, “Celebrating Women in Election Management; Public Service, Knowledge and Mentorship” is apt, as it is another opportunity to appeal to the present administration to favorably consider women in its appointment into various public service positions and to also, adhere to the National Gender Policy’s 35% affirmative action on women appointments.
