Where Are Women In Edo Guber Race?

By Epa Ogie Eboigbe

On the provisional list of 14 governorship candidates published by INEC this week, only one is a woman – Agol Ebun Tracy of NNPP. There are two female Deputy Governorship candidates in Mabel Akomu Oboh of ADC and Omion Omonye of SDP.

Are women being marginalized in Edo State or they are just not interested in leading the State? In other words, is it a man’s world in Edo?

Edo has never had an elected female Governor or Deputy-Governor. This is very sad! Where are the women of Edo State?

The story is however different in many other States in Nigeria. Even in the North where it is mostly a man’s world, several States have had Deputy-Governors and even in this dispensation, there are women Deputy-Governors.

Let us see how far other States have gone ahead of Edo.

Virginia Ngozi Etiaba was Governor of Anambra State from November 3, 2006 to February 2007. She is the first female Governor in Nigeria’s history. She was elected Deputy to Peter Obi in March 2006 but when Obi was impeached by the State House of Assembly in 2006 for alleged gross misconduct, she took over as Governor. Dame Etiaba however transferred powers back to Peter Obi three months later when the Court of Appeal nullified the impeachment on February 9, 2007. She went on to serve out her term as Deputy-Governor of Anambra State with Peter Obi.

Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, the current Deputy-Governor of Kaduna State is the first elected female Deputy-Governor of the State. She was elected with Governor Nasir el Rufai during the 2019 Nigerian general elections in February under the ruling political party in Nigeria APC. She is the 6th Deputy Governor of Kaduna State.

Ipalibo Banigo is the 6th Deputy Governor of Rivers State and has been in office since 29th May 2015 till date with Governor Nyesom Wike.

Cecilia Ezeilo is a lawyer, philanthropist and television presenter has served as Deputy Governor of Enugu State since 2015 and is now in her second term with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi under the PDP.

Oluranti Adebule, was the 15th Deputy-Governor of Lagos State. Her term ended on May 28, 2019 and she was in office from May 29, 2015 to May 28, 2019. She was preceded in office as Deputy-Governor by another woman, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire whose tenure ran from 2011 to 2015.

Still in Lagos, Sarah Adebisi Sosan is a former teacher who became the 13th Deputy Governor of Lagos State from May 29, 2007 to May 28, 2011.

Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele was Deputy-Governor of Lagos State with Governor Bola Tinubu between 1999 and November 2003. Tough lady she was, who never let any man get away with anything chauvinistic and her ‘battles’ with her principal were legendary. She was Lagos’ 11th Deputy-Governor and was succeeded by Femi Pedro, a man.

In Ogun State, Yetunde Onanuga was Deputy-Governor of the State during the second term of Governor Ibikunle Amosun from 2015 to 2019. She was succeeded by Noimot Salako-Oyedele, another woman.

Valerie Maurice Ebe, née Bassey, a lawyer was the first female Deputy-Governor of Akwa Ibom State from 3rd November 2012 to 29th May 2015.

Pauline Kedem Tallen became the Deputy-Governor of Plateau State and the first woman to be a Deputy-Governor in Northern Nigeria in 2007. She contested for the position of Governor of the State in 2011, but lost to Jonah Jang.

In the early 1990s, two women were appointed Deputy Governors by then military President Ibrahim Babangida. These were Latifat Okunu of Lagos State and Aisha Pamela Sadauki of Kaduna State. They were in office from 1990 to 1992. They would have been recorded as the first Deputy-Governors in their States except for the fact that they were not democratically elected.

Indications from the Edo State election 2020 list released by INEC are that the two major parties that are expected to have a close run are fielding male candidates for Governor and Deputy-Governor so it may be a long shot for an elected woman in the coming dispensation.

It is time more women in Edo State pick up the gauntlet and vie for executive positions because there is always the belief that women bring stability, development and balance in the polity.

Edo has had a female Speaker of the House of Assembly in the person of Elizabeth Ativie who made history by becoming the first woman to head the Edo State legislature, following her swearing-in on May 9, 2016, upon the impeachment of former Speaker Victor Edoror.

The Judicial arm of government has not lagged behind in producing female Chief Judges. The first female Chief Judge was Justice Contance Momoh from 14th August 1998 to 28th February 2005, followed immediately by Justice Abigail Oni-Okpaku from 16th March 2005 to 9th November 2005.  Justice Esohe Frances Ikponmwen was Edo State Chief Judge from 26 January 2017 to 22nd November 2019 and she handed over to the incumbent, Justice Esther Amenaghawon Edigin who was sworn in as the 7th Substantive Chief Judge in Edo State some months back.

While Chief Judge positions are not political or elective offices, the ladies have shown that they can hold their own and have even dominated the position since Edo State was created in 27th August 1991.

Edo State has had 10 Governors or Administrators – military and elected – since creation and all of them have been men, as contained below:

1.           Colonel John Ewerekumoh Yeri served as Governor of Bendel State between 1990 and 1991, and then continued as Governor of Edo State until January 1992 after Bendel State was split into Edo and Delta States. He was military governor during the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, and handed over to an elected civilian governor in January 1992.

2.           John E.K. Odigie-Oyegun was Governor from January 1992 to November 1993 under the Social Democratic Party, SDP.

3.           Colonel Mohammed Abul-Salam Onuka was military Administrator from 9th December 1993 to 14th September 1994.

4.           Colonel Bassey Asuquo served as military Administrator from 14th September 1994 to 22nd August 1996.

5.           Group Captain Baba Adamu Iyam was military Administrator from 22nd August 1996 to 7th August 1998.

6.           Navy Captain Anthony Onyearugbulem became military Administrator on 7th August 1998, serving till 29th May 1999.

7.           Chief Lucky Igbinedion served as democratically elected Governor from 29th May 1999 to 29th May 2007 under the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

8.           Professor Oserheimen Osunbor was Governor from 29th May 2007 to 12th November 2008 under the PDP but was removed when the Court invalidated his election.

9.           Comrade Adams A. Oshiomhole took over as Governor on 12th November 2008 to 12 November 2016 at the head of an Action Congress, AC, government which later merged with some other political parties to become All Progressives Congress in 2016.

10.         Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent, became Governor on 12th November 2016 under the APC.

From the above list, Edo State does not seem to have learnt from other States and other parts of the world on the need to engender gender equality by encouraging the womenfolk to vie to be elected as Governor or Deputy-Governor. Some Governors have made to some efforts to include women in their cabinet as Commissioners and Advisers. But one thing is sure – Edo sure needs some female wisdom and balance to ensure that our women are carried along so that we can ensure a gender equilibrium, and not only balancing in tribe and location.

Epa Ogie Eboigbe, veteran journalist, broadcaster and public affairs specialist writes on, and analyses current and historical issues with a ‘wise pen’.

The piece was culled from epa.com

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