Kwara Women Rally for Second Term Bid of Abdulrazaq

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Thousands of women in Kwara State drawn from different backgrounds yesterday staged a solidarity rally to canvass support for the second term bid of the state Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

The women said their support for the governor was for promoting women and girl-child issues in his administration.

The women, under the umbrella of Kwara Women for AA, gaily dressed in different uniforms, took their rally round the Ilorin metropolis in motorcades, singing and dancing to promote the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the state.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the Convener and Coordinator of the group, Mrs. Funmi Adefila, said the pro-women achievements of the governor should not go unrewarded by women in this state.

She said: “Many of us here are not card-carrying members of any political party. However, we make no pretence about our strong interest in governance and all issues that may affect (us as) women and our children.

“Over the last two years in Kwara State, we have seen a deliberate effort by the administration of Governor Abdulrazaq to mainstream gender inclusion in governance.

“It is on record that no administration in modern history of Nigeria has done so well to bring women to the decision-making table.

“We saw his cabinet composition where he gave 56.25 per cent cabinet positions to women as well as headship of government agencies and parastatals.

“This has far-reaching consequences on public policies and programmes. For instance, anti-family or anti-women policies can only get government support in Kwara State of today if women become complicit.

“This is because we are adequately represented in virtually all areas involved in policy designs, except in the House of Assembly which is beyond the dictate of the governor.”

She said: “Similarly, we have seen serious attention being paid to child development and government services that especially benefit women and children.”

Adefila noted further that: “The huge investments of the Abdulrazaq administration in basic education, sanitation, water, safety net programmes, and child and maternal health testify to his love for the welfare of the disadvantaged groups in the society.

“He topped these with the introduction of a law that commits Kwara State to gender inclusion through the Gender Composition Law 2021 and fair treatment of women through the recent domestication of the Violence Against Person Law.

“This is beyond partisan sentiments. It is about telling the world that Kwara women do not take the support of the governor for granted.”