From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, has accused all political parties in Nigeria of shutting women out of the 2023 general election.
She said despite years of sensitising women and urging them to contest for elective positions, leadership of all the political parties hijack the party structures and shut women out.
She stated this at the PMB scorecard series in Abuja, yesterday.
“My heart bleeds. I am not happy as far as women participation is concerned. I’m not happy with all our political parties as far was women issues are concerned. Our political parties, all, are not fair to women. It’s not that we don’t have qualified women to contest, but along the way, everything takes place within the party structure. If you are not within the party structure within the party secretariat, you will be phased out.
“A lot of women came forward, whose we sensitised, we mentor them, years before the election but when it comes to election time, they buy forms and they are phased out. Our countrymen are so domineering, so self-centred…they want to give space to women.”
The minister, however, singled out Senator Aisha Binani for clinching the governorship ticket on the platform of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa.
“But in exceptional cases, where God has helped us, we have an amazon that has emerged as the governorship candidate in Adamawa State, for the first time, under the ruling party, that is senator Aisha Binani. By the grace of God, Nigerian women would move to Adamawa…If we don’t have women at the decision table, there’s no way there would be decisions that would be taken that would suit the family.”
The minister broke down and wept when asked what the Federal Government was doing to ensure the remaining Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu were released from Boko Haram captivity.