As a build up to the upcoming election in 2019, women from Ekiti and Osun states gathered to look for better ways to ensure effective inclusion and participation of women into political offices. Come along through, attempt your chances thephone casino. The two-Day learning workshop which took place at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre, Ado Ekiti from March 20-21, 2018 consisted of intensive panel discussions addressing low inclusion of women in politics, strategies to build consensus among Women leaders regardless of their different political parties and affiliations and ways to overcome the lukewarm attitude of grassroots women towards politics.
The first panel discussion was on the ways to approach the 2019 Elections to get more women into political offices (both political party leadership positions and public offices): the women started this discussion by identifying that there is a little quota of political representation for women especially in Ekiti and Osun States, for three consecutive years there has been no woman-member in the Osun State House of Assembly, while in Ekiti State the number of women in the State House of Assembly reduced from 4 to 2. With more women registered as voters than men (53:47 in Osun), “Our vision is to start from the ward congresses and fight our way up. We are going to use our bigger number to get more positions and get a bigger voice in pushing more women for elective positions”, says Mrs Omowunmi Otunla, PDP women leader, Osun state. “If we don’t fight for ourselves, nobody will come to our cause. If we know what we want, we should face it squarely. We need to stand up for our right.” Ms. Romoke Edu, Deputy State Chair, Labour Party, Osun State. According to Hon. Owolabi-Akerele Titilayo, PDP Member, Ekiti State House of Assembly, “a lot of women who go into politics are already accomplished in other fields of endeavour”. Collaborating her position, Mrs. Otunla noted “We need to push for more positions and show that we can do it better. We have the time. We have the acumen. We are not clappers or singers. We need to sensitise our women that we are the light of the world. We only need to change the psyche of our womenfolk and use our bigger number to advance our interest”, Otunla explains.