Women are Catalyst for Change, Says El-Rufai

John Shiklam The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has described women as catalyst for the change that the nation is yearning for.

Speaking at a women summit organised by the APC in Kaduna State, El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said women constitute a large part of the electorate.

While commending women for voting the APC during the just concluded presidential election, El-Rufai noted that Nigerian women have demonstrated that they are a catalyst for change and urged them to vote for him during Saturday’s governorship election.

He said the purpose of the summit was to ensure that women make their input so that a road map for development of Kaduna State can include their contributions if he wins the governorship election.

He called on women to come out en masse on Saturday and vote for the APC in the governorship and House of Assembly elections.

He further urged the women to promote peace and prevent violence during and after the elections, stressing that as mothers they were in a position to prevent their children from being used to cause confusion.

Earlier, the convener of the summit and wife of the APC governorship candidate, Mrs. Aisha Ahmed El-Rufai said the time had come for women to participate in governance, “particularly because we form a large chunk of the electorate.”

“From policy to execution, women need to be included. For us to be able to take advantage of the wind of change, we must unite as women, putting aside our differences so that we can focus on nation building” she added.

Also speaking during the summit, which was attended by thousands of women across the state, the APC Director of Women Mobilisation, Mrs. Ruth Alkali, said women have proven that they are not a push over when it comes to elections.

According to her, El-Rufai has the experience and the competence to bring about change in Kaduna State and urged the women to ensure that they voted for the APC during Saturday’s election.

The guest speaker at the occasion, Hajiya Amina Salihu called on women to be of help to each other.

She noted that politics starts from the home and urged women to treat their children equally without discrimination against the girl child.

She stressed the need for women to acquire education in order to be relevant in the political system.

“Women must help each other to be able to harness their strength and make themselves relevant in the scheme of things” she said.

She described El-Rufai as an intelligent, courageous and hard working man who is surrounded by intelligent people, adding that “El-Rufai is a man of his words who keep promises.”