Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), the umbrella body of all registered political parties in Nigeria and all other political associations in the country, has join Nigerian women to protest the rejection of the bills meant to promote the interest of female gender in the ongoing constitutional amendment by the National Assembly.
CNPP, while appealing to the Nigerian lawmakers, urged them to stop the habit of taking the country back to the primitive days, and to revisit the rejected gender equity bills.
On the occasion of the 2022 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations, CNPP urged members of the Senate “to revisit the rejected pro-female gender bills to align the country with the theme of this year’s IWD celebration, which is #BreakTheBias.”
The statement issued by CNPP, signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, also upheld that, Nigerian “lawmakers have always failed to flow with the mood of the nation and prevailing international standards at all times”, adding that “the rejection of the gender equity bills was not a surprise.”
CNPP reiterated,
“If we are practicing democracy, the lawmakers, the executives and their appointees are always in office to do what the people who elected them want, not imposing their wishes and ideas on the citizens they represent.”
The body (CNPP) also complained that, it “took the deafening outcry of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, to get the National Assembly pass the bill to allow for electronic transmission of election results”, adding that, “The reason is because most members of the National Assembly hardly consult their constituents before taking decisions that would directly or indirectly impact their lives and livelihoods.”
CNPP again, based on the “2022 campaign theme: #BreakTheBias, “envisaged a gender equal world, free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination; a world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.”
The body therefore, “called on the Nigerian lawmakers to immediately revisit all bills that would promote gender equity and end discrimination against women on the basis of gender, as enshrined in the country’s constitution, particularly in line with the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.”
CNPP again submitted that, the President Buhari led All Progressives Congress (APC) government, “should end the policy of relegating our women to ‘the other room’ as Nigeria join the rest of the world to celebrate the International Women’s Day”, with an addendum that, “In Nigeria, we should transcend our biases against women, freedom of religion and go ahead to value and celebrate our differences to forge gender equity rather than widen the equity gaps.”