Gender Bills: Don’t Lose Hope on Your demands, Lawan Tells Women

Deji Elumoye and Sunday Aborisade in  Abuja

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan yesterday advised the Nigerian women not to lose hope on their demands for legislations on gender related matters.

Lawan, according to a statement, gave the admonition in Agasa, Kogi State  against the backdrop of some gender related bills that recently failed to scale through at the National Assembly in the ongoing review being carried out on the 1999 Constitution.

The Senate President, according to the statement,  made a strong case for education of the girl child shortly before he inaugurating  a 600-capacity JAMB CBT Centre which was facilitated by Senator Yakubu Oseni, who is representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.

Lawan said: “I know somebody will say gender bills have failed in the National Assembly. That is democracy. Let’s continue to lobby.

“We should continue to lobby because nobody will like to undermine anybody. Let’s not lose hope.

“Every male member in the National Assembly is a “He for She” because I don’t think there is anybody who is not married in the National Assembly.

“We will continue to work together with gender-based organisations especially those that genuinely want to engage with members of the National Assembly.

“This is because if you are not able to get something, if there is a failure, we should make it a political capital that tomorrow, we say, you were not able to do it yesterday, can you do it today. That will help us in ensuring that we get some of these hurdles out of the way.

“Most of us have our daughters as well. So, we know that everybody is one way or the other connected to this struggle but we should not lose hope,” he said.