Labour Party (LP) National Chairman Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, has described the party as a women-friendly party.
Senator Usman who spoke on Friday when she received the Nigeria League of Women Voters, Kaduna State chapter, said Labour is the first party in the country to produce a female national Chairman.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary Ken Asogwa, quoted Senator Usman as disclosing that the party also produced women as National Organising Secretary and National Legal Adviser.
“Labour Party has remained true to its ideals by not only preaching inclusion but also practising it,” she added.
She assured the delegation that the Labour Party under her leadership would never waver in its commitment to greater women’s inclusion in politics.
The National Chairman encouraged women not to always wait for a special quota before venturing into politics and taking bold political decisions, reminding them that she did not wait for any special concession before joining politics.
She however lamented the shrinking opportunities for women in governance and politics despite years of advocacy for inclusion, and recalled that during her time in the 7th National Assembly, there were eight female senators, whereas the current 10th Senate has only three women.
Senator Usman urged the women to take responsibility for changing the narrative and expressed concern over the tendency of women voters to favour male candidates over female candidates during elections.
“Even when statistics show that women voters outnumber men during elections, women candidates are often sidelined by their fellow women at the polls. This trend must stop if we are to make any appreciable progress in our quest for greater women’s inclusion,” she advised.
Senator Usman commended Abia State governor, Dr Alex Otti, whom described as “a firm believer in the capacity, dependability, and integrity of women.”o
According to her, Governor Otti stood firmly behind her before she emerged as substantive Labour Party national chairman.
“When I was going to Umuahia for our last convention, I thought I would hand over to a man. I shed tears when Otti insisted that I should remain.
“He is indeed a true advocate of women’s inclusion, especially as reflected in the appointments he has made in Abia State,” she said.
Spokesperson of the group, Dr. (Mrs.) Rekiya Shonekan, had extolled the virtues and accomplishments of the National Chairman in both politics and governance, and appealed to her to use her new platform to lend stronger support to the group’s advocacy for the bill seeking Special Seats for women in parliament.
The delegation also sought her continued support for women empowerment initiatives and the broader advocacy to make Nigeria’s political space more inclusive for women.
