The Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen says the Federal Government is committed to fully implementing an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja to comply with the 35 per cent affirmative action.
Delivering the judgement on April 6, Justice Donatus Okorowo after dismissing the preliminary objection challenging the locus of the plaintiffs had held that the National Gender Policy was meant to be implemented for gender balance.
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“Dismantling barriers to women’s participation in public spheres has been achieved through progressive interpretation of municipal laws and international obligations and treaties,” the judge had ruled.
Speaking on Thursday at a world press conference on the groundbreaking judgement, organized by Women Radio in partnership with Nigerian Women Trust Fund in Abuja, Tallen said: “I stand here on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari who sends his congratulations to all Nigerian Women on this landmark victory. Mr. President rejoys with us and was really glad of this judgement.
“I want to assure you that the president under his able leadership, and my humble self as the minister of women affairs will do everything possible to ensure and sustain the victory to ensure its implementation.”
In her welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Mufuliat Fijabi, said the conference aimed at emphasizing that work had just begun especially in facilitating successful implementation and obedience to the court order.
“The history made on 6 April 2022 is being documented and upon completion, it will be widely disseminated as a learning point for other strategies and other countries of the world to emulate and learn from,” she said.
The action was brought by Funmi Falana on behalf of the Incorporated Trustees of Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Women Empowerment Legal Aid, and Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Vision Spring Initiative, and Women in Politics Forum, among others.
They had, among other reliefs, sought an order to ensuring the 35 per cent affirmative action policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria as contained in Sections 42, 147 (3) and 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the National Gender Policy, 2006, in the governance of the country, among others.
