Ministerial List: 168 Groups Petition Senate Over 13% Representation Of Women

168 women groups have petitioned the Senate on the low representation of women in the ministerial list and asking it to draw the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to the exclusion of a sizeable proportion of their constituents of the female gender.

The groups representing different women interest groups according to the letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan drew attention to the fact that only 13% of the ministerial nominees were women as against the president’s injunctions towards inclusion.

“We view with dismay and utter disappointment the 87% male dominated ministerial list presented to the Senate by Mr. President,” the women wrote in the letter signed on behalf of the groups by Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Ms. Ebere Ifendu, Convener, Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), Dr. Felicia Onibon, Founder, 100 Women Lobby Group and Dr. Nkoyo Toyo, CEO, Gender and Development Action (GADA).

“This list maintains and reinforces the historical exclusion of women in the country, ignores the youth and people living with disabilities and thus inhibits the critical goal of achieving meaningful, equitable and participatory national development. The list submitted by Mr. President reneges on the repeated campaign promises by his government and creates a crisis of confidence in the integrity of our elected political leadership.

“Therefore, we write to convey a clear message of national importance to the nation, Mr. President, the legislature and those nominated as ministers. We wish to remind you about the unavoidable consequences of failing to use the appointment exercise as a tool to steer the affairs of country towards a desirable and sustainable future. Such a future is as conceived by well received and established best practices and obligations arising from the 2030 Global Agenda of the United Nations.

The groups thus asked the senators “to send a clear message to the Executive that women and other groups excluded from fair representation are your political constituents.

“As responsible leaders/ representatives of the people, we ask you to object to any list by the Executive that significantly excludes your constituencies who have informed you of their desire to be fully involved in the issues that affect them.”

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