By Billy Graham Abel Yola
A political Group, Women in Politics, Adamawa state chapter, has staged a peaceful protest condemning a judgement that led to the dismissal of Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, stating that the attack is an orchestrated attack on all women in Nigeria and a ploy by the men folk to subjugate the woman folk against the popular female political candidate despite the glaring endorsement by the massive will of the people.
Women in Politics, led by its state chairperson, Comfort Ezra, said there is no longer room for discrimination against women and all women in the country should rise in unison to fight this deliberate attempt to scuttle the hope of women in Nigeria through the backdoor.
Comfort Ezra made this known at a peaceful protest march held in Yola, Adamawa state.
While addressing the public, the state chair person of Women in Politics, comfort Ezra said, “We call you today to express our dismay and vehemently kick against marginalisation of women in the political space especially by the political parties who tend to deliberately put obstacles on the path of the female gender during their primary elections.
“The recent court Judgement delivered by the federal High Court siting in Yola, refusing to uphold the election of the only female governorship candidate in Nigeria for the 2023 general elections, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a wake up call on all women across the country and not in Adamawa state alone.
“We are calling on all women in Nigeria to stand with Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed to ensure she is not robbed of her mandate.based on technicalities.”
Speaking on the party primaries she said, “With 430 votes, we believe Senator Binani rattled the men folk not only in APC but across board. The technicalities of seeking to refuse her the ticket through the courts is deliberately effort of the male gender to stop the women folk from leadership positions and we consider and we consider it an affront on all women.
“We do not understand why the men whom she defeated by a wide margin of votes will not display sportsmanship and accept the verdict of the people but seek to use the court to upturn the mandate popularly and transparently entrusted to Senator Binani.
“We are calling on all women across Nigeria to lend their voices and stand firm to see that senator Binani’s mandate is not thwarted through the back door.
“Binani’s mandate is for every woman and all women should arise to protect the mandate.”
The women who led a rally from the police headquarters flyover up to the APC secretariat said, although they respect the the decision of the court but still find it incomprehensible that the only female governorship candidate in Nigeria would be dismissed from contesting elections on technical grounds saying her disqualification is an affront to women in Nigeria and it is an attempt to silence the significant majority of the population of the country and make them irrelevant within the political system.
“Women are arguably the determinant demography in our political processes in Nigeria.
“In the 2019 general elections, women accounted for about 47.14 percent of the over 84 million registered voters nationwide and F
for the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission says women and youths form over 75 percent of registered voters, ” Comfort Emphasized.
She adds that, “In as much as we are law abiding and respect our courts of law, we are calling on the higher court to do justice in the case without fear or favour because we believe that the court of law is the last hope of the common people.
“The All Progressives Congress APC should also stand by Binani because recent events have proven that she is the candidate to beat in the Adamawa governorship elections of 2023 as she is already altering the dynamics and altering the political space.
“In that respect you all might want to know why the PDP government in Adamawa swiftly replace her deputy governor candidate with a woman immediately Binani won the APC Governorship primary elections.”