Anglican primate advocates 50% women in federal cabinet

Martins seeks Buhari’s assent to Electoral Amendment Bill
Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Rev. Nicholas Okoh, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give 50 per cent appointive positions to women in the new federal cabinet, to enable them contribute to nation building.

Okoh, in a chat with The Guardian at the 2019 Mothers’ Sports Fiesta in Abuja, stressed the need to encourage more women to actively participate in politics.

He added that women, most times, perform better than men when given the opportunity.

Represented by the Diocesan Women Ministry Chaplain, Ven. Ephraim Akanya, the primate urged women to also support one another and avoid the pull-her-down syndrome, adding that with their huge population, they could make a great difference in the society.

President of the Mothers’ Union and Women’s Guild, Mrs. Nkasiobi Okoh, said it would be good for more women to come on board the new federal cabinet, as they had proved, from the home, to be good managers.

Meanwhile, Buhari has been urged to assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill sent to him by the National Assembly, to eliminate malpractices that characterised this year’s general election.

Catholic Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Alfred Martins, made the call yesterday during the feast of St. Oscar Romero at the Christ the King (CKC) Catholic Church, Ilasamaja, Lagos.

Buhari, on December 6, 2018, declined to assent to the bill, saying signing it close to the election could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.

The cleric said the flaws in the general elections, including vote-buying, ballot box snatching, incitement, ethnic bias, killings and militarisation, were well known.

“These all combined to give the exercise a bad name. But that is not to say that it was completely a failure; they are shortcomings we need to work on.”

To guard against future occurrence, Martins urged the president to assent to the bill.
He advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to consider e-voting, as the country is growing in size.