Politics
Ekweremadu Makes Case For More Women In Politics
The Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday, called for increase in women participation in governance at all levels, saying it would enhance the country’s rapid development.
Ekweremadu made the call at a workshop on “2019 Elections and Policymaking: Making Women Issues Matter” organised by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Abuja.
He said that women had the capacity and integrity to build a better nation and that Nigeria would only take its rightful place in the comity of nations when women occupied their place in governance.
He said “when a man is educated, an individual has been educated, but when a women is educated, an entire nation has been educated.’’
The deputy senate president said that he believed that when women were politically empowered, the entire generation had been empowered.
He pointed out that women had done well in nearly all spheres of life, including sports, business, academics locally and internationally.
The lawmaker said that women had proven themselves in vocations which were reserved for men such as automobile mechanic and commercial driving.
He said that women have shown high level of integrity and were very passionate, which has made them respond to the call of service across the globe.
According to him, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are headed by women.
Ekwremadu, however, lamented that some factors had prevented women from taking their rightfully place in the politics of Nigeria.
He described the situation as ‘a case of a step forward and two backward’, recalling that the last administration had 35 per cent of women in Federal Executive cabinet, but that the story is different now.
Ekweremadu noted that women had been held down by factors ranging from cultural to religious, economic and socio-political with the wrong belief that the role of women was in the kitchen.
He said that women who were courageous enough to aspire for political offices were deemed as ‘over-ambitious’, a situation he referred to as “cultural terrorism.”
He described as “cheap blackmail’’ to refer to women aspiring for political offices as prostitutes, adding that such assumption was untrue.
The legislator urged women not to be deterred by such limitations saying that “he who must be in the kitchen should not be afraid of the smoke.”
He stated that Nigeria was placed at 168 in women representation in national parliament across the world.
He said that Rwanda was first in the world and South Africa, Mozambique and Senegal among the top 20 countries in the rating.
The deputy president of the president said that by the provision of section 42 of the Constitution, discrimination against sex, origin, community or political opinion was prohibited.
He advocated amendment of the section to create special quota for women in line with the 35 per cent affirmative action on women representation.
He suggested that Nigeria should take after Rwanda which amended its constitution to create special quota for women across political bodies.
On June 12, Ekweremadu said it reminded the nation of the great roles played by compatriots to bring the country to democratic rule, adding that there was no better day to discuss issues affecting women representation in politics.
Earlier, Executive Director of PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo, had said that it was not helping the nation’s politics that more than 50 per cent of the population had less than 10 per cent representation in politics.
Nwankwo said that based on integrity, intelligence and creativity of the women population, PLAC had decided to expand its scope to include women participation in politics.
He said that PLAC, in collaboration with Ford Foundation, had produced a report to help address the issue, and expressed hope that by the 9th National Assembly, there would be more women lawmakers.
Reviewing the report, Dr Nwachukwu Orji, Resident Electoral Commissioner, Anambra, said that it was surprising that women under-representation in politics was an issue giving the potential in the country.
He said there was a potential of full representation in Nigeria and that the country should not be left behind.
Orji said at the global level, women representation in parliament had doubled over the years and that Nigeria should not be left behind.
He said that 12 countries in Africa had elected more than 30 per cent of women into parliament and that five countries had elected more than 40 per cent.
Orji said that though some measures had been put in place to increase women participation in Nigeria’s politics, there was need to switch from “incremental track to fast-track’’.
The highpoint of the event was the unveiling of the report by the deputy president of the senate.
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.