Gbajabiamila flays imposition of quota for elective office

Tony Akowe, Abuja

SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Saturday flayed imposition of quota in elective office, saying that Nigeria cannot achieve political independence based on the rights of the Nigerian people to choose their leaders in a free and fair election without interference and imposition and yet argue for the imposition of quota in elective offices.

The Speaker who said he owes his success in the political arena to his mother said he wants to be remembered as someone who contributed to active women participation in the political life of the country.

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To this end, he said he would be proposing Women’s Victory Fund at the next meeting of the National Executive Committee of his party, the All Progressives Congress, and asks all other parties to do the same as a way of raising money to encourage women participation in the electoral process of the country.

Delivering a keynote address at Women in Politics dialogue forum, organised by Women in Management, Business and Public Service in Abuja, the Speaker said “I have heard it said that we can achieve increased gender participation in politics by imposing quotas and allocating elective political office.

“We cannot on the one hand advocate for a new kind of politics dependent on respect for the basic human right of all people to choose their leaders in free and fair elections without interference and imposition, and on the other hand argue for the imposition of quotas in elective office.

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“This is a fundamentally antidemocratic idea, and the proposition collapses under the weight of its own contradictions.”

He told them that they cannot achieve anything in politics or hope to occupy political positions without first joining a political party and playing active part in it as they must first belong to a party before they can be nominated for elective office.

He said “my participation in politics is a legacy of my mother and I owe my achievements in this arena to her. Now, I am a father of daughters for whom I hold the highest ambitions.

“At the end of my career in politics, it is my hope that I would have contributed constructively to the achievement of a society where my daughters and all our daughters can live up to their highest aspirations, freed from discrimination on the basis of their gender, and protected from the worst consequences of our patriarchal society,” he said.

He said further that historical evidence suggests that when women take part in the politics of their nations, they can make a difference, adding that “It is also evident that economic and social advancement for women will not be achieved to the extent we desire and at the pace we expect, until women have equal seat at the political table where the grand decisions of nationhood are made.

“In Nigeria, we contend with a culture that has created, and too often continues to encourage and tolerate practices that disenfranchise our women, limit educational and economic opportunities available to them and restrict their ability to reach their highest potential,” he said.

He however added that the constitution of Nigeria does not impose any restrictions on women’s participation in politics as it expressly prohibits any and all gender-based discrimination, adding that any conversations around gender quotas in political office cannot occur outside of a constitutional amendment.

He also said “We have agreed that over the next four years, the House of Representatives will support and encourage efforts to actively recruit, train and promote women who choose to participate in public service and electoral politics.

“We will enthusiastically engage with non-governmental organisations, civil society partners and political action committees to organise within the major political parties and at the grassroots to communicate the need to have greater gender diversity amongst political office holders.”

According to him, “elections are generally won on four things: candidate, ideas, funding and organisation. I believe that if we recruit more inspired candidates, fund them and provide them organisational support to effectively manage their political operations, we will get more women to participate in electoral politics.

“These women will have a better chance of winning their party primaries and the general elections. Keep in mind the one universal truth about political parties; they all want to win the elections, and they will often, nominate and support the candidate with the best chance of doing so.”

The Speaker also informed the forum of his intention to propose the creation of a special Women’s Victory Fund to support at the next National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to recruit more women who will contest elections on the platform of the party.

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