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Speakership:NCWS ,PDP leaders insist on Mulikat
By:
Jim Pressman,
Abuja Bureau Newsdiaryonline 03-06-11
The top brass of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rose
from a meeting with their state governors in Abuja Thursday June
2, 2011resolved that first, the Senate Presidency is still zoned
to the North Central geo-political zone, and that Senator David
Mark remains the party’s sole candidate. They therefore directed
all PDP Senators to vote en block for Mark.
Secondly, according to Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Dr.
Bello Mohammed Haliru, the Speakership of the Federal House of
Representatives is still zoned to the South-West, and the party
has accepted to go for Hon. Mulikat Akande – Adeola,
a 1982 female Law graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria, who is representing Ogbomosho North/Ogbomosho South/Orire
Federal Constituency in Oyo State. This he said is because
the PDP is gender-sensitive, women-friendly and so Affirmative
Action-compliant that whenever there is a tie in vying for a
position between two people, it is standard PDP policy to allow
the woman take the trophy. Other Principal positions are to be
left to Senators and House members to decide among themselves
after the inauguration of the 7th National Assembly
on June 6, 2011.
Bello Haliru told reporters outside the Rivers State Governor’s
Lodge in Asokoro, venue of the meeting which ended at about
10:15 p.m. that Governors present, among them Gabriel Suswam
(Benue state), Lyel Imoke, Cross River state), Ibrahim Shema, (Katsina
state), Timipre Silva (Bayelsa state), Sule Lamido (Jigawa
state), Alhaji Kwankwaso (Kano state) and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa
Ibom state) to go tell it to their PDP National Assembly members
who are not from those zones to which the Senate Presidency and
House Speaker-ship have been zoned to back off, and that those
who had shown interest in those positions to step down. He added
that the PDP governors had all accepted.
The National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) Nigeria must be
happy to hear this, as it had only the previous day accused
state Governors of blocking the chances of genuinely qualified
and capable Nigerian women desirous of appointment to positions
of policy and decision-making by the administration of otherwise
gender-sensitive and women-friendly President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan, even as they have called on the President to use his
veto power to scuttle the grand designs of such anti-women
governors by appointing women he considers competent.
Speaking in Abuja Wednesday 1st June 2011 through
their National President, Hajiya Ramatu Bala Usman,
mni the umbrella
body of all Nigerian women associations with branches and Branch
Presidents in the 774 Local Governments of the Federation, said
they trusted the President and believed that he will keep his
promise to Nigerian women 35 per cent Affirmative Action in the
appointment of Nigerians to positions, but that it was the
governors who, when asked to submit names of nominees to the
Presidency, do not include names of credible women. They
recalled an earlier meeting attended by Hon. Beni Lar, Hon.
Akande-Adeola
The women spoke with one voice in support of the candidature of
Senators Nkechi Nwaogu (Abia South – East, PDP) and Zainab Kure
(Niger North – Central, PDP) as well as Hon. Barrister Mulikat
Akande-Adeola (Oyo, South-West, PDP) for leadership of the
Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, as they
trust the women to be all eminently qualified and competent to
make a mark on the 7th National Assembly and do
women, Nigeria and the international community
Asked if they would go to court or take any drastic action
should President Jonathan fail to keep his part of the bargain,
Hajiya Ramatu Usman and the Secretary-General/Member of the
Board of Trustees of Women’s Rights Advancement & Protection
Alternative (WRAPA) Mrs. Saudatu Shehu Mahdi, as well as Hon.
Elizabeth Ogbogo (Ebonyi/Ohaukwu/Ohaukwu Constituency), all said
in unison that they trust the President will keep his promise
because they know his antecedents as a man of honour and
integrity who has promised not to let Nigerians down.
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