From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
As 2023 general elections in Nigeria draws closer, the Executive Director, Renaissance Care and Empowerment Foundation, Ambassador Idris Ozoveha Muraina has called for more involvement of Nigerian women in Politics.
Ambassador Muraina made the call at a Round Table Discussion on Women Participation in Politics organised by the Foundation for selected Media Practitioners in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital on Tuesday.
He decried the prevailing poor participation of Nigerian women in politics describing the development as worrisome which he said the round table discussion is out to address and proffer solutions and strategies to tackle the trend.
He explained that there has been a worrisome downward slope in the participation of women in politics as evidenced by available data in 2015 Gubernatorial elections in Kogi where women only accounted for 35% of accredited voters, and by 2019 general elections, that number had slumped to 29% which formed 17% decline from the 2015 elections.
The Executive Director said that the project is targeted at reducing the report of electoral violence against women in politics ahead of the General elections to be conducted in Kogi state come March 2023.
He said that it also intends to increase the participation of women voters over the last 2019 Kogi governorship election voter figures by the end of 2023 general election.
Ambassador Muraina enumerated strategies to be adopted in finding lasting solutions to remedy the trend to include; embarking on Media enlightenment, advocacy visit and community dialogue in the media to get women know their right to vote and be voted for.
He however, noted that the Foundation’s main objective is on ensuring societal development in the areas of health, education, vocational training, economic empowerment and conflict prevention with focus on children, women, youths and other valuable groups.
In his presentation during the round table discussion, Hamza Aliyu of Initiative for Grass-Root Advancement, commended Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state for signing of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) bill into law which he said is a serious legal structure to help women to effectively participate in politics.
He said what is needed now is to secure community support across the three senatorial districts of Kogi state towards the actualizarion of the women project.
End.
[26/07, 14:49] Joseph AUDU: Kogi NLC Joins Protest Over ASUU Strike
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) Kogi state Chapter on Tuesday, joined in nationwide protest over the prolonged strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of University, (ASUU).
Members of NLC who held a solidarity work from Stella Obasanjo library to the Kogi state Government House in Lokoja presented their demands to Governor Bello for the strike action to be called off by the aggrieved lecturers.
Carrying placard with different inscription such as “Federal government conclude renegotiation with JAC, SSANU, NASU”, “enough is enough get our children back to school”, “respect university autonomy”, “jettison IPPIS”, “end ASUU strike now”, and many more, the Kogi State chairman of NLC comrade Onuh Edoka who was represented by his vice chairman, comrade Opaluwa Eleojo while presenting the demands of labour to Governor Yahaya Bello lamented on the negative effect of the strike in the county.
The union recalled that the aggrieved lecturers in the university decided to down tool on February 14th 2022 when the federal government deviated from the 2009 agreement with the university lecturers.
He maintained that relevant stakeholders have decided to wade into the matter but has not yielded any positive result.
According to him, the continuous stay at home by students in the university poses a great threat to the security and unity of Nigeria as a nation.
While calling on the Kogi State Government to intervene in the dispute between the ASUU and the federal government, the NLC chairman said it is disheartening that the Buhari led administration could withheld the salaries of the striking lecturers for over five months.
He also described the decision of the present administration to keep mute over the demands of the striking lecturers as wicked and insensitive.
Responding, the Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello who was represented by his deputy Chief Edward Onoja said the faceoff between ASUU and the federal government is long overdue, adding that, for any nation that wants to succeed, priority must be given to education.
Governor Bello assured the labour leaders that his administration will put pressure on the federal government to put a lasting solution to strike action in Nigeria.