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Women’s rights activist, Oby Okafor, said she is dissatisfied with the “low representation of women” in Governor Charles Soludo’s cabinet in Anambra State.
Mrs Okafor, a 2017 governorship aspirant on the platform of the defunct Advanced Congress of Democrats, said this on Tuesday in Awka, while speaking to reporters.
According to her, it is disheartening to note that Governor Soludo’s cabinet fell short of the expected ratio of 30:70 women representation to meet the affirmative gender balance.
She said: “We have only five women out of the 21 commissioners sworn in recently. The number of women did not make up to 30 per cent of the entire cabinet.
“Even the special advisers or assistants he appointed so far, only a few women made it. Does it mean that we do not have capable women to work with Soludo?
“It is so disappointing because that is not what we expected from a seasoned development expert like Governor Soludo.
“I have listened to him several times talk about the huge role that women can play in the development of the Igbo society. I expected him to have taken a cue from his lectures by appointing more women into his cabinet. But that did not happen.”
Mrs Okafor said Mr Soludo’s emergence as governor would not have been possible if not for the massive support given to him by women in Anambra.
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“Many women were at the polling units voting on election day. Some spent the whole day at the voting centres and even followed the ballot boxes to the collation centres to ensure their votes were truly counted.
“But they are now sidelined when it is time for appointments. It is not right at all. This is where I am not happy with Soludo,” she said.
Mrs Okafor urged the governor to acknowledge the sacrifices made by women during the November 6, 2021 governorship election and give them a sense of belonging by appointing more women into his cabinet.
According to her, such consideration would ensure gender balance and the opportunity for the women to contribute “meaningfully to the growth and development of Anambra”.
(NAN)
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