Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has highlighted culture and religion as barriers to increased women participation in Nigerian politics.
Ganduje made these remarks on Wednesday at the APC national secretariat in Abuja during a visit from Hajiya Nana Shettima, the wife of the Vice President, accompanied by the wives of prominent politicians, who aimed to empower women within the party.
Ganduje said, “The population of women in Nigeria is more than the population of men. You can see that when it comes to election, women are more committed despite environmental hazards, be it heat, cold weather, dust; they will stay through.
“But when it comes to the sharing of the success of the election, it is dominated by wahala (men). We have to change this narrative, at least, to increase women participation in politics. We are already discussing with the chief executives of the states, starting from the grassroots politics.
“Though there are elements of culture, there are elements of religion, with time, all these will give way for full women participation in politics. This will significantly improve the financial status of our women.”
In her remarks, Nana Shettima, who said she represented wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, asked Nigerians to be patient with the government.
She said, “My appeal to all of us here is to be our sister’s keeper. No matter what, let us appreciate one another. We all know it is easy to destroy, but very difficult to build. To our President, I believe he is also a gender-friendly person like the First Lady. He has given so many opportunities to women as ministers and head of MDAs in his government.”