From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Women members of All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, constituted a strategic lobbying group to brighten the chances of their electoral fortune in the 2023 general election.
The women, under the leadership of their representative in the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee, Stella Okotete, resolved to scale the number of women in the National Assembly to about 180 members.
Speaking to newsmen after the inauguration, she said it is achievable if women can work together and eschew pull-her-down (PHD) syndrome.
“We have no reason. No excuse to sit back and allow the normal circumstances or issues derail us or stop us from achieving this. We can only achieve this if we come together. If we speak with one voice. If we discontinue the PHD syndrome that I found when I resumed here.
“And that is why, in partnership with International Republican Institute (IRI), we come up with a lobby group so we can address these issues beyond having women sit on the table. The biggest issue we have as women in politics has to do with finances.
“Can we compete with the men when it comes to funding elections? I can tell you that from this lobby group, we are not just going to lobby for more representation, but we will lobby for financial independence of our women at the party level
“We are about to start our congresses soon that will lead to the national convention. It is our appeal to the men. And I know the party men. But they just want us to speak with one voice. And I think this is what we are going to do here.
“So, apart from us creating visibility in lobbying for financial independence, we need to do a whole lot of work as regards identifying strong women, electable women that can be elected under this platform,” she said.
