‘Women representation in elective positions: Nigeria worst in Africa’

The federal, state and local governments have been asked to transform the lives of women in the rural and urban areas by giving them opportunities to be heard and be elected into positions of power.

The Kebbi State Coordinator of OXFAM International, Mr. Olumide Ojo, while speaking during an interactive session with women associations in Birnin Kebbi, said this was necessary because women in Nigeria were poorly represented, “in fact the most poorly represented,” in elective offices in Africa.

He specified that women in elective position in Nigeria amounted to 7%, the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and that this had declined further after the 2015 elections.

Ojo said the governments at all levels could start addressing the issue by ensuring equitable women representations in their cabinets and in decision making in other spheres.

The OXFAM coordinator stated that violence against women in Nigeria was increasingly becoming a serious issue.

He said, “In 2016, Nigeria ranked 118 out of 144 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index. Sadly in 2017, Nigeria ranked 122 out of the same 144 countries on the Global Gap Index report.”

He appealed to governments and other stakeholders to challenge the socio cultural norms that had constituted themselves into systemic hindrances for gender justice in the country.