How we were threatened, harassed, intimidated during 2019 elections - Female candidates narrate harrowing tales

- Some female candidates who participated in the 2019 elections have narrated how they were threatened, harassed and subjected them to other inhumane acts during the exercise

- One such candidate, Mrs Mulikat Akande Adeola, said she saw violence, militarization, voter-inducement and lots more during the exercise

- Another candidate, Mrs Christina Ude, said she was threatened days to the election

- Also narrating her experience, Mrs Phina Kanu said during the elections, she and her supporters had to run for their lives from their violent opponents

On the heels of the just-concluded 2019 general elections, some female candidates have described how fellow politicians threatened, harassed and subjected them to other inhumane acts during the exercise.

They made the disclosure in Abuja at a meeting organized by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) aimed at improving women participation in politics and governance.

According to Daily Trust, the meeting was tagged “Strategy Meeting on Experiment Sharing of Female Candidates in the 2019 General Elections”, and took pace over the weekend.

Legit.ng gathers that a former leader of the House of Representatives and senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Oyo Central senatorial district, Mrs Mulikat Akande Adeola, said women believed in doing what was right.

Akande said she went through her party’s primary elections successfully and was prepared.

She said: “During the general elections, people were ready to do anything. We saw violence, militarization, voter-inducement and lots more.

"I was the preferred candidate and my constituents were still in shock that I was not declared winner.”

In the same vein, Mrs Christina Ude, who contested for the House of Representatives to represent Orlu/Oru East/ Orsu federal constituency of Imo state, said she was threatened days to the election.

She said: “Somebody called me and threatened to bring thugs to make sure my votes do not count if I do not bring a certain amount of money.

“The fellow eventually carried out the threat as my agents were threatened and in some cases, they were chased away.”

She said people should not complain of poor leadership if they took money at the polls or were induced with other material wealth; asserting that the electorate got got the leaders they deserved.

Also speaking, Mrs Phina Kanu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who contested for a seat in the Abia State House of Assembly, said she was physically intimidated during the poll.

She described her experience at the polls as being horrible, to the extent that she and her supporters had to run for their lives from their violent opponents. According to her, it was not easy to show interest in politics as a woman.

She said: “As women and mothers, we will not want to do things our children will not be proud of. I would urge women to venture into politics on time from secondary school level through the university.”

The NWTF’s chief executive officer, Mrs Mufilat Fijabi, said the meeting was convened to beam the spotlight on the experiences women had in the general elections; specifically those of candidates.

She said the forum aimed to improve Nigeria’s democratic performance as regards participation of women in politics.

She noted that since 2007, women representation in elective offices had continued to decline; adding that Nigeria had gone lower in the ranking of nations with women representation, going by the results of the 2019 elections. She said the situation had to be salvaged.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that the Edo state House of Assembly’s only female candidate who sought to represent Oredo West Constituency, Miss Charity Idahosa, said she was sexually harassed by men over her ambition.

Idahosa, contesting under the platform of Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA), made the allegation in a chat with newsmen in Benin.

She described the experience as frustrating, and a recurring negative trend against women in politics.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service!

Can a woman ever become Nigeria's president? - on Legit TV:

Source: Legit.ng

from Nigeria News today & Breaking Naija news ▷ Read on Legit.ng 24/7 http://bit.ly/2uUXSQa
via EDUPEDIA24/7

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis :

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja. Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi

EDUPEDIA247

Search This Blog