NCWD Boss Canvasses Peaceful Polls

The Director-General,
National Centre for Women Development, Ms Onyeka Onwenu, has canvassed for peaceful conduct of the general elections.
Onwenu spoke at a Re-orientation Programme to Sensitise Nigerians on the Need for Peaceful Elections in Abuja recently.
Onwenu who described electoral violence as an ugly trend, urged politicians to stop inciting their followers through hate speeches.
She said women and children were more vulnerable in violent situations.
“We should be very careful; no country survives a second civil war. So, can we tell our politicians who are inciting people not to start something they cannot finish?
“Everybody has a mother, a sister, a daughter, an auntie and your own family may be affected and if it is not your immediate family, certainly your extended family’’, she said.
The director-general called on all Nigerians to collaborate to ensure peaceful elections.
She urged the media to intensify efforts in sensitising Nigerians, particularly at the grassroots, on the need for violence-free elections.
Onwenu explained that the programme was necessary particularly for women who had the capacity to influence their families positively.
“Nigerian women have the right to influence because we are nurturers in the family.
“We can stand together and say no matter what happens when ever the election is held, before, during and after, our children are not going to be killed.’’
She said women had the power to contribute to peaceful elections if they were not divided along religious, cultural, ethnic and language lines.
She urged women to show more interest in political activities as well as to vote wisely during the general elections.
The programme, with the theme: “The Next President Talkshow on Election 2015’’, was organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors and Living Legends Foundation, an NGO.