The women wing of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Edo State has called on the party to consider the inclusion of women as candidates for the forthcoming general election in the country.
Speaking in an interview with The Point in Benin City, the Edo State women leader of the APC, Dr. Aiososa Amadasun, said the call was necessitated by alleged misdemeanor perpetrated against women by the “so-called leaders of the party” which, according to her, had triggered crisis in the party across the country.
“The recent catastrophic tendencies have not only polarised or fragmented APC in the 36 States of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, but have also subjected the party, which preaches internal democracy, to public ridicule and bastardised the vision of the founding fathers,” she said.
Amadasun, who is the Women Coordinator of the party in the state, said the national working committee should give women 30 percent of positions in government and eschew the present lack of recognition for internal democracy.
According to her, the crisis which had enmeshed the party following the just concluded primaries for states Houses of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate could have been avoided if the party truly practised internal democracy. She alleged that the party had rather opted for impunity and subversion of the people’s wishes and aspirations, an action, which she said had remained the hallmark of APC.
Amadasun, however, appealed to the national body of the party to consider the women by giving them 30 per cent representation in government as part of the gender equity requirement.
“Before the emergence of the current National Working Committee, the APC granted waiver to women, as a way of encouraging them to be deeply involved in contesting political positions by granting women nomination forms free of charge, but the present National Working Committee under the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole subjected women to harrowing experiences by charging them exorbitant fees to collect nomination forms and yet were screened out,” she stated with mixed feelings.
She said that the bizarre manner in which the party primaries were conducted without recourse to equity, justice and fair play had not only enthroned godfatherism, but had also exposed it as a party of hawks swallowing chickens as its prey.
“The level of impunity has assumed a frightening dimension under the leadership of our National chairman, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, who once pride himself as an apostle of positive change and the curative medicine to godfatherism, ” she said, adding “But today, godfatherism, high-handedness, imposition of candidates which negates democratic principles are the bane of
APC.”
She noted with dismay how APC women in Edo State shared the pains and feelings of the first lady and wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, who, in her anger and frustration, expressed the way and manner the party’s recent primaries were handled and wondered why the party should encourage aspirants for political positions to purchase the party’s nomination and expression of interest forms at an exorbitant cost and only to later turn to grant automatic tickets to some aspirants thus denying those that had purchased the forms the opportunity to contest.
The present National Working Committee under the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole subjected women to harrowing experiences by charging them exorbitant fees to collect nomination forms and yet were screened out
“The primaries conducted so far by the leadership of the APC across the 36 States of the nation, is not only shameful, disgraceful, undemocratic, and a charade . It also threw many states into mayhem and shook the entire foundation of the party to the verge of precipice,” Amadasun stated.
She noted with dissatisfaction that their avowed commitment to stimulate the growth of the party which motivated Edo State women to contest for various political positions having nurtured the growth of the party from its infancy to the limelight, with all assurance that the leadership would back their aspirations, were truncated by the exorbitant fees slammed on the collection of Nomination and Expression of Interest forms. She lamented that the rigorous consultations and campaign embarked by the short-changed women therefore became a total deception.
She said a total number of ten women from the three Senatorial Districts of the state,namely Edo North, Edo South and Edo Central, were denied tickets by the national leadership of the APC, despite the sacrifices and huge resources they committed into the party.
Amadasun opined that, “Any party that fails to recognise the imput of women and reward them with position, commensurate to their painstaking efforts to ensure victory, is not only doomed, but will suffer defeat.”
She therefore appealed to women not to fold their hands and allowed themselves to be deprived of their rights, saying their aspiration should be the breaking of the jinx of male domination of plum positions and stop playing second fiddle to the men. She also added that they should shun being used as tools for campaign during electioneering period.
Amadasun, a resourceful woman of substance, restated that Edo APC women would not fail to salute the vision, focus and gender sensitive prowess of Gov. Godwin Obaseki for keeping faith with women and standing resolutely for their empowerment and political emancipation.
“Mr. Governor Obaseki has set an unprecedented record of performance for being the first democratically-elected executive Governor that has demonstrated passion and encouragement for women to harness their God’s given potentials, with the appointment of more than 120 women into various political offices and extra-ministerial departments,” Amadasun said.
According to her, the appointment of 18 women as Special Assistants and a Special Adviser to the Governor on Gender Equality was a deliberate expression to give women a sense of belonging.
“The governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has also played a vital role by increasing the number of women in the state working committee of the party from one to three,” she disclosed with enthusiasm, saying that was novel in the history of Edo politics.
“We hereby pledge our unalloyed loyalty and unflinching support to the policies and programmes of his administration. As mothers, we will keep on praying for a stronger and result-oriented government that will engender meaningful development of Edo State in particular and the Nation in general, ” she pledged.
Amadasun said, consequently, after analysing the “ugly scenario and trepidation emanating from the brigandage as concocted by the leadership of the National Working Committee,” the Edo Women’s Wing had passed a “vote of no confidence’’ on the National Working Committee of the APC for promoting nepotism and tyranny in handling the affairs of the party since they came on board.
She further appealed to mothers that, as the 2019 general elections are fast approaching, they should prevail on their children not to offer themselves as willing tools in the hands of desperate politicians to perpetuate thuggery, ballot box snatching, violence and other mayhem associated with elections.
She further appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to take pragmatic steps to redress the injustice done to members of the APC during the just concluded Congresses which, she said, was to the only solution in guaranteeing victory at the 2019 general elections.
Also speaking with The Point at the joint interview, the President, National Council of Women Society, Comrade Omololu Eiyela, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the situation now militating against internal democracy in the party nationwide so as to restore peace and harmony to the party.
She also called on the President to look into the complaint and quickly call the national leadership of the party to order so as to address all the issues currently working against the party before next year’s general
elections.
