Women warn against elections’ shift

A WOMEN group, under the aegis of Echoes of Women in Africa Initiative (ECOWA), has called on the Federal Government to ensure that the rescheduled dates of March 28 and April 11 for the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remain sacrosanct.

  This call was made at the commemoration of the International Women’s Day with the theme, “Make it happen”, organised by the Echoes of Women in Africa Initiative (ECOWA).

  The Executive Director, ECOWA, Louisa Ono Eikhomun, who made the call, said: “We all know that the political tension in Nigeria is largely because of the election postponement and we are saying today that come March 28, election should be held. We don’t want further postponement because anything that will trigger another June 12 crisis will be detrimental to the nation and the end sufferers are women.

  “Right now, we have 3.3 million Nigerians displaced and majority of that number are women who are living in terrible conditions and had become refugees in neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger and Cameroun”.

  Eikhomun, who also reiterated the need for a national holiday to mark the International Women’s Day as observed by some countries which celebrate the achievement of women politically, economically and socially, said: “Nigerian women need safe space to develop, therefore, the government and stakeholders should prioritise the safety and security of women by ensuring the passage of the Violence Against Women and Persons Prohibition Bill before the Fifth Assembly winds up as well as the 50 per cent affirmative action for women in elective and appointive positions.”