GBAJABIAMILA, OKECHUKWU CHAMPIONS OF GENDER EQUALITY – WOMEN GROUPS



Enugu:Several women groups and gender rights advocates have described the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila and the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Toby Okechukwu as “Champions of Gender Equality”
This followed a motion to that effect moved by Hassan Fulata, chairman house committee on business and rules.
Fulata’s motion urged the House to suspend her extant rules in order to rescind her earlier decision in respect of the bills
“In line with our extant rules, I move that we suspend our extant rules to rescind our decision in respect of these three bills and recommit them to the committee of the whole for reconsideration”
The Deputy Minority Leader, Rt Hon Toby Okechukwu then seconded the motion:

“Mr Speaker, honorable colleagues, I rise to support the motion that we suspend our own rules in order to ensure that, today, being International Women’s Day, that our women are further, better accommodated in this environment, mindful of the fact that women constitute about fifty percent of our population”
“Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, said the bills will be considered in the next voting on the constitution amendment coming up in four weeks”
“Last week, the house voted on the constitution amendment,” he said.
“There are issues arising therefrom and the house in its wisdom has decided to take a cause of action for the good of the country and that action is to rescind three of the decisions that were taken that day and after the rescission we will list them on the next set of amendment coming up.”
According to him, the constitution, under section 5 allows the house to regulate its own procedure and the House will be relying on the provision of the constitution to harmonise the differences between the House and Senate.

Mrs Amaka Agbo, a former secretary of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Enugu State Council and a national stakeholder of the National Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ was full of praises for the Speaker, Gbajabiamila, the Deputy Minority Leader, Okechukwu and others who “deemed it worthy to honour Nigerian women on the International Women’s Day by deciding to re-visit the Gender Bills considering the fact that women constitute at least half of the Nigerian population”.
She also described them as “champions of Gender Equality and Womens’ Rights”
Cecilia Ndu, Program Officer, Global Mission International, GLOMINT in collaboration with National Association of Women in Business, NAWOB commended Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Rt. Hon Toby Okechukwu, Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives for being “champions of Gender Equality”
In her own submission, Enwelum Ogechukwu, Esq., Executive Director, Divine Era Development and Social Rights Initiative (DEDASRI) commended the leadership of the House of Representatives, urging the Senate to emulate them:
“I wish to commend the leadership of the House of Representatives and its members for committing to take a 2nd vote on three of the issues relating to female gender in the ongoing constitution amendment.
“We’re hopeful that considering the position of women all over the 36 states and FCT in the ongoing issue, the House will vote in the affirmative.
“I sincerely look forward to seeing the Senate taking a U-turn on its voting against these provisions. Posterity will speak for them to have lead actions that provided for the yearnings of almost half of its constituents/citizens.
“Also, repositioning Nigeria on a good pedestal in issues relating to the female gender. I’m hopeful that with the increased interest in female gender issues, Hon. Gbajabiamila and Hon. Okechukwu and others will serve as champions of Gender issues in Nigeria”
Hon Okechukwu, according to his constituents, has always been interested in the welfare of the female gender.
According to Mrs Nkechi Kalụ, a house wife and petty trader from Nenwe, Aninri LGA, one of the beneficiaries of Hon Okechukwu’s numerous women empowerment schemes; “Iyierioba (Hon Toby Okechukwu) is a darling of the womenfolk in his constituency because he has always cared for us.
“I was a beneficiary of cooking and hospitality empowerment program he organized for women last November.
“Afterwards, the participants were given cooking utensils, gas cookers and cylinders to facilitate their commencement of careers in the hospitality industry”
The three weeks empowerment program sponsored by the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Toby Okechukwu in November, 2021 had all participants numbering 150 filled with a sense of gladness over having learned a skill that can lift them from poverty and serve them a life time.
The empowerment program which was held in Awgu for the first week, Aniniri the second week and Oji-River the third week where the grand finale was also held saw a total number of 50 participants from each center.
The empowerment program which was themed ‘skill gap improvement’ was organized to teach the participant cooking and hospitality management was powered by the National Institute For Hospitality And Tourism (NIHOTOUR) and also saw an ensemble of teachers from the institute as they taught the participants all they needed to know.
The gender bills to be re-visited are:
Citizenship — the bill seeks to amend section 26 of the 1999 constitution to provide for citizenship by registration for foreign spouses of Nigerian women.
Affirmative action: The bill proposes an amendment to section 223 of the constitution to provide 35% affirmative action to ensure women occupy at least 35% in political party administration.
Indigeneship: The bill seeks to amend the constitution to allow a woman to become an indigene of her husband’s state after at least five years of marriage.
Federal lawmakers, during the consideration of the clauses of the constitution amendment bills on March 1, voted against the gender bills, including a a bill seeking to provide special seats for women in the national and state houses of assembly.