Follow Us on Google
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Women In Politics Forum (WIPF), said it has deployed 100 observers to monitor the 2023 elections 11 states.
The states are; Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Cross River, Kogi, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
President of the Forum, Barr Ebere Ifendu, at a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, decried low involvement of women as political parties sidelined them.
“Women In Politics Forum will be deploying 100 election observers in 11 states in the 2023 General Election in Nigeria; Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Cross River, Kogi, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto, and the FCT.
“The training will be combining both virtual and physical methods of training using technology and also the skills of experienced election experts.
“We know the importance of training our observers close to election day for adequate retention of the information to be utilized on election day.
“We are glad to announce that we have also reached out in partnership to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) with the recent launch of the N-Alerts app to ensure safety of Nigerians at the 2023 polls and we urge all Civil Society Organizations deploying observers to make use of the N-Alerts as part of the measures to combat violence against women in the forthcoming elections.
“(The N-Alerts application is available on the play store and can be downloaded easily. Incidences of electoral violence can then be reported immediately from the observer’s location to the NSCDC and will be acted upon swiftly once the command in charge receives the signal for action)
“In the 2023 General Election, Nigerian women have experienced a further reduction in the number of aspirants and emerged candidates, this will further affect the number of women who will hold elective positions.
“For example, in the forthcoming 2023 General elections, there are 15,331 candidates across all 18 political parties in Nigeria, and only 1,534 are females, which translates to about 10%.
“This shows that the political participation of women in Nigeria is a national issue of concern, with a continuing record of underrepresentation in both elective and appointive positions.
“Women have suffered from marginalization, discrimination, underrepresentation and also Violence Against Women in Politics at the National, State and Local Government levels.
“Our observation has shown that Electoral Violence is one of the reasons most women do not participate in Governance, especially elections; as candidates and electorate on election day.
“Violence Against Women has increased significantly especially in politics during this electioneering cycle. Women have experienced different forms of violence ranging from sexual harassment, bullying, blackmail and even murder,” she said.
