2023: NGO urges Abia women to vote for female candidates.
Ogbonnaya Ikokwu, Umuahia
A non profit making organization
Known as Emerge women development initiative, has urged Abia women to throw their weight behind other women contesting for governorship and State Assembly elections in the state.
The Abia State co-ordinator for the group Mrs Uchechi Happiness, who made the appeal in Umuahia the Abia State capital on Thursday insisted that women must use their voting strength to elect their fellow women into political offices.
Happiness, who spoke during a one day workshop with the theme “Harnessing women votes for women candidates”, pointed out that “the time is set for the women to win at least 35% elective position by voting for women candidates.
She said, “Emerge women is a non profit making organization that fights for justice for women across economic empowerment, social change, political and leadership for women. We also fight gender based violence.
“This program is organized by the Abia State chapter to see how we can support the women who are running for political offices particularly the State House of Assembly. we do not have a single woman in the Abia House of Assembly.
“It has become important for this organization to see how we can get women across the political parties that fielded women as candidates to see how other women can support them.
“We know that women make up the 60% of the voters in any political period, we are basically asking the women to turn their numbers into resources for winning election, much more for electing women into the Abia House of Assembly”.
“We have just celebrated the women history month, so the women came together to celebrate with one another and of course because it’s a political season, that’s why you can see the women candidates using the opportunity to speak to their fellow women to vote for them during the election.
“It’s all about harnessing women votes for women candidates.
It’s also about supporting the women leadership agenda in Abia basically to see if we can get some women into the Abia State House of Assembly.
“We also looked at the issue of gender based violence. It’s a known fact that some women go through some gender based violence during election periods”.
In her remarks one of the participants Mrs Mary Ikokwu, revealed that the NGO rendeners supports to women contesting election from various political parties.
She pointed out that women face a lot of opposition and intimidation from their men counterparts in politics, adding it was high time, women started giving their own mass support.
Her words, “We offer support to women candidates through funding. The fund you see some of them receive today is from the board of Emerge women to support them, because election requires money and some of this women are struggling to meet up with the finances to do campaigns, particularly this last lab of the campaign occasioned by the shift of the election by one week.
“Most of the women had already concluded their campaigns and where ready to go to the poll, in order to help them put up with their bills, that’s why we have to support them with funds.
“Our major aim is to see some women in the Abia State House of Assembly to make it more inclusive.
I’m very impressed by today’s event. I’m amazed at the spirit of comaradeship, the oneness and support the women gave to the candidates. A lot of them have said
they will take the campaign for the women candidates to various communities and political wards. The level of enlightenment that went on her has made the women to begin to realize that they can genuinely support each other during this election period.
“All the candidates that came all spoke from their heart, we could see that they have a heart to serve and they have given up themselves for service and I think it’s a welcome development that Abia have this caliber of women running Electoral offices”.
Among the women candidates that graced the occasion were the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Pastor Ngozika Gladys Johnson Ogbuneke, the African Democratic Congress(ADC) candidate for Umuahia South State constituency Mrs Chinwenwa Nathan and the Accord Party candidate for Umuahia Central State constituency Mrs Chika Ukandu Ikpi.