Primary Election Fall-Out: Women Group Threatens Action against APC, Others …Backs Atiku-Okonjo Iweala pairing

 

A political pressure group, Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), has threatened to drag the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other major political parties to court over what it described as unfair treatment meted out against women aspirants during the primary elections.

It particularly accused the ruling party of having unequal representation in elective positions as was the case in the recently concluded primary elections.

The Forum, which led a protest in Abuja to register their disappointment over alleged intimidation, harassment and financial extortion suffered by women aspirants during the primaries, said it may be forced to bring women out to campaign against the affected parties.

The Coordinator of the Forum, Ebere Ifendu, who addressed journalists on Thursday, lamented that apart from paying half of the stipulated amount to buy the Expression of Interest forms for elective positions, the women aspirants were subjected to various degrees of humiliation and degrading treatments during the primaries.

According to her, "WIPF shares deep concerns and reservation about the conduct of the primaries as quite a number of the women aspirants were faced with intimidation, harassment and threats to their persons and properties in their aspirations to various positions.

"Though all political parties are affected, the case of the ruling APC is not acceptable. At the Women Aspirants Advocacy Summit organised by the Women in Politics Forum, the NCWS in collaboration with the office of the wife of the president, women were encouraged to contest for elective position.

"However, in view of the changing dynamics in electoral public in Nigeria, one would have expected significant changes in the electoral conduct, but this unfortunately has not been the case.”

She also noted that the speculation that the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, will be the running mate to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was gladdening.

The Forum assured Nigerians that any party that fields a female as a presidential running mate will get 50 per cent of the entire vote from women.

"There have been a lot of mixed feelings which have trailed the conduct of the primaries. WIPF observed that the pattern of participation by both men and women as voters and as aspirants wasn’t favourable," she said.

On the options left for the Forum should parties fail to look into their appeal, the convener said: "We have formally written a petition to the leadership of the APC but if they fail, we have the option of heading to court."