Tina Amanda
The Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, has urged women in the state to go beyond the level of advocacy to practice, in order to achieve gender equality.
Ibani who stated this when members of Nigeria Association of Women Journalist, NAWOJ, Rivers State, led by the chairperson Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, made a solidarity walk to the State House of Assembly in commomeration of International Women’s Day in Port Harcourt, said women are the foundation of agrarian society and should rise up to take their place in the society.
He assured NAWOJ that the State House of Assembly will continue to stand solidly behind the gender equality bill adding that women should be given opportunity to occupy other positions.
The Speaker further noted that Governor Nyesome Wike led administration is gender sensitive and friendly and has displayed it in appointing women in several positions in the state.
“For us as a sub-national legislature, we know what we stand for, we are gender friendly, we have taken several steps to defend the rights of women in Rivers State
“Rivers State House of Assembly has carried out several measures to see how issues that concern women in the society are been included.
“I made the position of house assembly very clear as a gender sensitive assembly. We take into account the role of women in society right from old and that is why I am saying women should go beyond the level of advocacy to practice. If the world can acknowledge the need to be celebrated all over the world, then Nigeria can not be different.
“Our National Assembly members can not be insensitive to the plight of women. Women are the foundation of agrarian society and If the society transforms from agrarian culture to mechanised system, the women should be part and parcel of such, so there is no level of position women can not occupy.”
On her part, Chairman of NAWOJ Rivers State Chapter, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana, appealed to the Rivers State House of Assembly to help convey the message on the bill of gender equality to the National Assembly for reconsideration.
She expressed displeasure over the neglects of women at the National Assembly for demanding for their rights.
She, however called on women to get their permanent voters card PVC to vote in women massively into various positions come 2023 election.
“We must use our PVCs since we are more in number to Vote them out of those offices to allow our women occupy them and we don’t even need additional offices or positions to be created considering the high cost of governance the country is already facing.
“Our children too will support us when we Restrategise to support more women to be in position of power. We must restrategise to sponsor women, who are willing, well able to go into politics to go and pick up forms to contest for positions of their choice.
“If we actually desire for more women in position of power, we must use what we have to get what we want as the 2023 General Elections draw closer.”
