The United Nations has said Nigeria is not doing well in the continental ranking on women representation.
The UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, stated this during a seminar in Abuja, on Monday.
She said the role of the legislature is in advancing women, peace and security in Nigeria.
The event was organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in collaboration with UN Women, Government of Germany and Norway.
Ms. Eyong argued that ensuring women’s meaningful representation is critical to building an inclusive, responsive, and accountable security sector that reflects the diversity of the community it serves and better responds to their needs.
She said, “With just about 4% of women elected to the National Assembly, and only seven women serving in the forty-five member-cabinet, Nigeria is not doing well in the continental ranking.
“I call on the legislators of 10th National Assembly to utilize this guide to support full implementation of Nigeria’s 3rd National action plan, including approval of annual budget for coordination, monitoring and reporting of the policy document, at all levels.
“As Nigeria is currently developing its 3rd national action plan on women, peace and security, the need to engage the legislators in the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the policy document is critical. This is therefore one of the objectives of this seminar.
“I therefore, call on all the legislators and other stakeholders to support the amendment of these security laws to further enhance a gender-sensitive environment for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the security sector institutions and the society at large.”
In his welcome address, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof Abubakar O. Sulaiman, lamented that “despite being integral to the very essence of society via the family, playing a central role in the informal economy, and participating in elections (particularly through mobilizing support for candidates), very few women are involved in formal decision-making and resource allocation processes.”
Daily Trust reports that Senators, members of the House of Representatives and many others attended the seminar.
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