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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Ahead of the forthcoming by-election for the Enugu North Senatorial District seat in the National Assembly, a coalition of women under the platform Women Gather has called on Governor Peter Mbah, political stakeholders and the electorate to support the emergence of a female senator.
The senatorial seat became vacant following the demise of Senator Okey Ezea, who represented the district.
Speaking to journalists in Enugu on Wednesday, the Coordinator of the group, Onyinye Mamah, lamented that since the return to democratic governance in 1999, no woman from Enugu State has been elected to the Senate to represent any of the three senatorial districts.
Mamah urged Governor Mbah to support their cause, recalling his positive disposition towards gender inclusion during an engagement with women groups on the Reserved Seat Bill sensitisation exercise.
According to her, among the five South-East governors, Governor Mbah has shown the strongest commitment to women’s inclusion and the 35 per cent affirmative action policy. She described him as disciplined, supportive and encouraging.
The social advocate emphasised that women are better positioned to understand and articulate family and societal challenges, particularly poverty and hardship.
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“As mothers, we feel the pains of the family directly. Nobody understands where the shoe pinches more than the wearer,” she said.
Mamah expressed concern that since 1999, women have not occupied prominent political positions in the state. She cited the current Enugu State House of Assembly, where only two members are women.
She argued that proper implementation of the 35 per cent affirmative action should translate into at least seven female members in the State Assembly.
Describing Governor Mbah as their “last hope” for meaningful gender inclusion in the state, Mamah appealed to him to use his office to ensure women receive the necessary support to produce a female senator in the forthcoming bye-election.
She assured the public that Enugu North has competent and capable women ready to represent the district effectively in the Senate.
“We will not disappoint the people of the senatorial district if given the opportunity,” she stated.
The group maintained that supporting a female candidate in the by-election remains the surest way to give women a genuine sense of belonging in Enugu State’s political space.
