The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has saluted and celebrated the Nigerian women on the occasion of this years’s International Women’s Day. This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s National Chairman, Mallam Falalu Bello and made available to newsmen in Abuja today.
The full statement reads:
“International Women’s Day has arrived today, the 8th of March 2020 and like every year, people across the world will celebrate women and their rights this day dedicated to women.
International Women’s Day is a day dedicated to honouring the achievements of women throughout history and all across the globe.
On the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) considers it pertinent to convey its best wishes and greetings to all Nigerian women.
Nigeria is blessed with extraordinary women achievers in all parts of the nation. These women have done excellent works in a wide range of sectors and their efforts and accomplishments inspire millions locally and Internationally and our women have done so since time immemorial.
Nigerian history is full of such heroic women like Queen Amina of Zazzau who is appreciated for what she did and in recent history, we pleasantly remember and appreciate the roles played by women in the struggle for better Nigeria as found in the Aba Women riots against unjust taxes, the bravery of the women of Calabar and Owerri in the face of killing and brutality that greeted the riots are a show of the determination of the Nigerian Woman. In the immediate past, we also remember Funmilayo Ransom Kuti and Gambo Sawaba of NEPU party for their struggles against oppression in their areas of domicile. Their struggle across political zones in Nigeria demonstrate their worths if given the opportunity which the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) readily promises.
On this note, the PRP wishes to take this opportunity to salute all women around the world and our Nigerian sisters in particular. We wish them the very best in all their endeavours.
The PRP has always been very sensitive about the place and role of women in the political, social and economic processes of the Nigerian polity. It should not be otherwise given the fact that this segment of the society constitutes a significant proportion of the population.
Women make up about fifty-one percent of the Nigerian population and play very vital roles in the economic and sociological wellbeing of the society. It therefore goes without saying that no political party that seeks power for the betterment of the citizenry can afford to ignore this significant component of its constituency.
We, in the PRP, are committed to advancing the role of the women in all spheres of the political, social, economic and cultural life of the nation, and ensuring and entrenching their active participation in the control and functioning of all organs of government, at all levels, and mobilizing them to empower and emancipate themselves from the bondage of retrograde customs and traditions and modern forms of manipulations, degradations and exploitation by providing the means necessary for their organization, creative recreation and the learning of productive skills.
We shall advocate a constitutional amendment to ensure the take-off of an active women participation in political activity through a form of gender-based Affirmative Action by which at least one quarter of all seats in all legislatures of all the three tiers of Government are reserved exclusively for women through either elections or selection in such a manner that they will be filled with women nominated by political parties on a ratio based on the seats won by each party in the legislature after election. This is one of many innovations the PRP will bring in the Nigerian Political landscape for Nigerian women.
In reality, Nigerian women face a myriad of challenges coupled with traditional encumbrances, but these should not deter them from pursuing and actualizing their dreams.
Ultimately, while celebrating the International Women’s Day and saluting Nigerian women, we also call on all women to embrace the concept of active participation at all levels of decision-making and governance.”
