By Ijeoma Obioma.
,,,,,Too bad, female political appointee in kogi laments.
The Spring of Hope for the Girl Child Development Initiative (SHoGDI) has expressed disappointment that no woman emerged in the just concluded Local Government elections in Benue State.
The Executive Director of SHoGDI, Mimidoo Uhundu, who made the observation in Makurdi said that elective positions must be made accessible to women in fairness of inclusivity.
She expressed concern over the lack of female representation in key leadership positions in light of the October 5, 2024 concluded local government council elections in Benue State, noting that it ought not be so.
Uhundu voiced her disappointment that no woman emerged as a chairperson in the elections, calling it “a slap” on the efforts toward gender equality.
She stressed the need for political parties to be deliberate about mainstreaming gender in their nominations to ensure that female candidates are available for the electorate to vote into office, emphasising that while appointments are necessary, there were need to have more women in elective positions.
“Political parties should be deliberate about mainstreaming gender in their nominations, this way there will be female candidates for electorates to vote into office,” she remarked, adding that beyond appointments, elective positions must be made accessible to women.
Uhundu, an activist, entrepreneur and ex-beauty queen reiterated that achieving sustainable development goals, especially SDG 5 (Gender Equality), requires collective effort which includes encouraging women to run for office and making political spaces more accessible to them.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
