• Imo REC decries female apathy in electoral process
Wife of Ekiti State governor, Mr. Bisi Fayemi, has urged Nigerian women to discourage their husbands and children from engaging in violence during elections.She made this remark yesterday at the Forum of Women Leaders across public and private sectors in Abuja to promote advocacy for the involvement of women for a peaceful election in the country.

The forum is an initiative of United Nations Women (Nigeria) and the African Union.According to Mrs. Fayemi, women can play very significant roles in politics and government by registering as voters, participating in the voting exercise and discouraging their husbands and children from engaging in electoral violence.

A statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Funmi Ajala, asserted that the success of the coming elections in the country depended largely on how effective women mobilised and worked towards their peaceful conduct.

“Let us go easy on what we do or say on social media. It is extremely powerful and we are very grateful for the advantages these technologies have availed us in terms of coalition building, mobilisation and creating awareness,” she said.She hinted that the African Women’s Leadership Network (AWLN), which brings together women leaders across the continent, would soon be launched in Nigeria after its debut in New York and five other African countries.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Francis Ezeonu, has expressed regret over women’s apathy in the electoral issues.Declaring open a seminar on ‘Mitigating Violence Against Women in the Electoral Process’ at Newton Hotels, Owerri, Imo State, yesterday, he lamented that since he assumed duties in the state, “women do not respond favourably to invitations” by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The REC particularly expressed disgust that of about 70 women leaders invited to share ideas and identify causes of their lack of interest, only about seven were present at 10 am when the event was billed to start.He charged them to cross-fertilise ideas and come up with decisions on how to make the elections violence-free, with women participating.

Head of Department, Voter Education Programme, INEC, in the state, Sunday Adedoyin, and the public relations officer, Mrs. Emmanuella Ben-Okpara, expressed disgust that based on field reports, some women in the market allegedly insisted they must be paid to either collect Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) or to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.
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