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EU Insists Inclusion of Women in Politics, Governance Important for Sustainable Development

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

EU Insists Inclusion of Women in Politics, Governance Important for Sustainable Development

By: Michael Mike

The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, has stated that the active participation of women in decision-making and politics remains important if Nigeria is to achieve equality, sustainable development, peace, and democracy.

She noted that while women have the fundamental right to participate in political life, most of them still face a lot of social, cultural, and financial challenges.

Isopi reminded stakeholders, especially the National Assembly, that the ongoing constitution reform process presents Nigeria with a unique opportunity to join the league of progressive nations in promoting gender parity through the adoption of a legal framework that discourages discrimination based on gender.

Isopi, who was represented by the EU Deputy Head of Mission to Nigeria, Zissimos Vergos, made this known in Abuja, during a two-day roundtable on women inclusion in politics, in commemoration of the International Women’s week, organised by the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), with the theme: “Women’s Underrepresentation: Exploring the Use of Temporary Special Measures to Elect Women to Parliaments, said: “Over the years, strategies to increase women’s participation in politics have been advanced through conventions, protocols, and international agreements for gender mainstreaming. However, they are yet to prove effective in achieving gender parity in the highest government rankings.

“Thus, women continue to be underrepresented in government, and face barriers that often make it difficult for them to access, exercise political power, and assume leadership positions.”

She noted that: “In Nigeria, the advocacy for women’s political participation has been long drawn, and in spite of the very dynamic interventions by women groups and other key stakeholders, their representation remains in steady decline. For example, women’s representation in the 10th National Assembly is 7.4 percent out of a total of 469 combined seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.”

She stressed that there is strong evidence that as more women are elected to office, there is an increase in policymaking that emphasises quality of life, and reflects the priorities of families, women, and marginalised groups.

“Women tend to work across party lines, be highly responsive to constituent concerns, help secure lasting peace, encourage citizen confidence in democracy through their own participation, and prioritise health, education, and other key development indicators.

Isopi said: “Women’s political leadership may not be the only answer to sustainable development, but the foregoing underscores the important contributions women offer when given equal opportunities to men. We must therefore strive for a society where every woman does not just feel safe enough to survive but empowered enough to thrive.”

In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu,, explained that women bring immense value to nation-building, particularly as they are more thorough, unbiased, look beyond themselves, and are selfless.

He said: “What the best performing African countries regarding female representation have in common is the adoption of electoral quotas for women; a system which is not present in the nations at the bottom of the ranking. Unfortunately, Nigeria happens to be one of them. The last position is Nigeria, with only 4 percent of women holding seats in the House of Representatives, and 3.6 percent in the Senate. That is sad.

“In Nigeria, only 4 percent of women hold seats in the House of Representatives, and 3.6 percent in the Senate. That is sad. These figures paint a picture of stack disparity and highlight the urgent need for proactive and corrective measures to address the gender imbalance in political representation.”

On her part, Chair, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Ireti Kingibe, said, “As of the 9th Assembly, we ranked 182 out of 186 countries in the world in terms of women in governance and politics. Nigeria faces significant gaps in women participation across all arms and levels of governance, reflecting a pressing need for increased gender inclusivity.

“Recent data reveals that women remain underrepresented in political spheres, with only 3.411 percent of parliamentary seats held by women. 4 out of 109 Senators, and 14 out of 360 members of the House of Representatives. Part of the problem that I see is that first, the women are not usually on the ballots, let alone to get voted for. Therefore, one of the first places to start would be the political parties.

“Even when the women get elected, even within the Chambers and the House, there is a lot of discrimination and lack of inclusion. It is not just about getting women elected but is also about changing the psyche of the average man for him to understand that women are important in governance and decision-making, just as he thinks his mother and wife are important.”

The Chair, House Committee on Women in Parliament, Hon. Fatima Talba added that: “There is an urgent need to address the imbalance that we are seeing today in governance. There is a need to address women’s inclusion in politics and building bridges to empower women in politics.

“While there are over 150 committees in the National Assembly, there are committees with no women in it. How can the interest of women be protected? Women make up about 65 percent of the population, yet when it comes to decision-making, we are excluded.”

Executive Director, Policy, and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Mr. Clement Nwankwo, in his remarks, decried the unfair social, cultural, and political hurdles women have to scale to be able to hold political offices.

He said: “Recent elections in Nigeria in 2023, completely underscores the challenge we have in women representation, especially when you have a situation where out of 109 Senators, only 4 are women. Also, in the House of Representatives where you have 360 representatives, and only 14 are women. This tells you the crisis of inclusion that Nigeria is faced with.

“Women continue to face severe challenges, even contesting elections in the primaries. After scaling past the primaries, they then have to face the bigger conversations around contesting in the election itself. This is an issue that goes to the root of our democracy and the structure of governance in the country.”

EU Insists Inclusion of Women in Politics, Governance Important for Sustainable Development

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National News

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

Published

10 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

By: Michael Mike

The DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr (Dr) Abisoye Coker-Odusote has approved the promotion of 523 Staff of the Commission.

The promotion, according to a statement on Saturday by the spokesperson of the Commission, Dr. Kayode Adegoke is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Adegoke said: “This is a statutory part of the performance reward system for Staff who sat and met the pre-requisite conditions as spelt out in the Public Service Rules (PSR) in the 2025 promotion exercise.

He disclosed that accordingly, two staff members were promoted to the Director’s cadre (GL 17), and eight staff members moved to the Deputy Director cadre (GL 16) and 35 staff staff members promoted to the Assistant Director cadre (GL 15).

He further disclosed that 35 staff were promoted to the level of Chief Identity Officers (GL 14), with 109 moving to Assistant Chief Identity Officers (GL 13).

Adegoke said 113 officers moved to the rank of Principal Identity Officer (GL 12), while 82 were promoted to Senior Identity Officer ranks (GL 10), and 130 to the rank of Identity Officer 1 ( GL 9).

The DG/CEO congratulated all the promoted staff and charged them to see the promotion as an opportunity to serve the country better. She reiterated zero tolerance for extortion and warned staff to desist from it.

Engr Coker-Odusote, furthermore, encouraged all staff members of the Commission to work harder in the coming year 2026 and ensure the successful implementation of the National Identification Number project. She reiterated her commitment to prioritise staff welfare and ensure the dignity of labour.

NIMC Promotes 523 Staff Members

National News

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

Published

11 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima has congratulated Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Senator Hope Uzodimma, on his 67th birthday, saying his exemplary and progressive leadership within the All Progressives Congress (APC), his state, and the nation at large is worthy of emulation.

He noted that as Chairman of the PGF, an umbrella body of Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Uzodimma has demonstrated exceptional capacity to unite and galvanise the party’s Governors towards achieving a collective vision for Nigeria’s development under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The Vice President on Saturday, described the age of 67 as an important milestone in the life of Uzodimma, noting that the special moment reflects how far the Governor has come, and sets the stage for what lies ahead.

Acknowledging how Uzodimma’s “exemplary leadership as Executive Governor of Imo State continues to inspire confidence and progress,” VP Shettima described the PGF Chairman as a committed servant of Nigeria.

“Your recent appointment by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, as Renewed Hope Ambassador is a well-deserved recognition of your unwavering dedication to the ideals of our administration and your proven ability to articulate and champion the transformative agenda of the Renewed Hope mandate across our nation,” the VP told the Governor.

This singular honour, Senator Shettima said, reflects President Tinubu’s confidence in Governor Uzodimma’s leadership and commitment to national progress.

He observed that the Imo State Governor’s strategic governance, infrastructural achievements, and dedication to the prosperity of his state exemplify the progressive leadership Nigeria needs at this crucial time.

The Vice President prayed the Almighty God to grant Governor Uzodimma continued wisdom, good health, and strength to sustain his “remarkable service to Imo State and Nigeria.”

VP Shettima Extols Gov Uzodimma’s Progressive Leadership At 67

National News

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy

By: Michael Mike

The Europe Union (EU) is investing an additional €45 million in Nigeria’s digital economy.

The package was signed by the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela in Brussels.

A statement on Thursday by EU read: “At the EU-Nigeria Digital Open Day, which just took place in Brussels, a €45 million programme completing the EU Digital Economy Package for Nigeria was signed between Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela.

“This investment will further support the cooperation in digital sector between Nigeria and the European Union.”

The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, said: “Global Gateway is about delivering new opportunities, and the EU-Nigerian cooperation in the digital area has a very strong potential to do exactly that. Our approach to digitalisation is based on skills-transfer, open standards, data protection, privacy and security. This way, we make sure that technologies truly enrich human lives. The new package will take our efforts even further by supporting modern e-public services and investing in the skills that will prepare Nigeria’s youth for the digital future.”

The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani added: The EU–Nigeria digital economy cooperation reflects our shared belief that digital transformation must provide a platform for growth in productivity driven by technology. As part of this, Project Bridge provides a commercially sustainable entry point for European investors and suppliers to participate in deploying an open-access fibre network at scale. Combined with our leadership in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure and programmes such as 3 million Technical Talents, Nigeria offers European businesses a market where talent, demand and policy alignment converge to support long-term investment and expansion.”

The programme signed on Thursday includes a flagship Global Gateway support to the Project Bridge that aims to deploy 90 000 km of fibre-optic backbone across Nigeria. This project is the country’s most ambitious digital investment supported by loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank and African Development Bank.
The €45 million grant supports the preparation of this strategic project with technical assistance and equipment in three complementary ways: for the detailed fiber optic network design, for local skills development and for the supply chain deployment with the mobilisation of the EU private sector.

The EU programme will also contribute to modernise Nigeria’s public administration through secure, user-friendly digital services. it also involves targeted support for Nigeria’s nationwide digital-skills programme, helping train a new generation of technicians, engineers and IT specialists.

According to the statement, this is essential to create new jobs, because large-scale digital projects can only work if the local workforce can maintain, operate and innovate on these networks.

The objective of the EU-Nigeria Open Digital Day was to facilitate access to information for European investors and suppliers interested in participating in the Nigerian digital ecosystem. The focus was on the Project Bridge, presented as an opportunity for collaborations between the EU tech sector and Nigeria.

With this €1.7 billion flagship project is projected to extend Nigeria’s total fibre to 125 000 km (+70%), making it the third-longest terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure in Africa, following Egypt and South Africa.

Digitalisation is a priority area for the EU-Nigeria partnership as reflected in the €820 million Digital Economy Package launched in 2022 under the EU Global Gateway strategy. The EU-Nigeria collaboration in this sector spans from connectivity to digital skills, entrepreneurship, service and governance with multiple projects.

Nigeria’s digital economy has potential to create jobs, foster economic growth and open greater democratic space in Africa. Nigeria hosts big companies, and Lagos offers digital and business ecosystem with incubators, access to finance and digital service platforms. It has the biggest e-commerce market in Africa with 87 platforms, employing some 2.9 million people.

It is also leading on the continent on digital and start-ups – of the 8 existing African unicorns, 6 are Nigerian, with impressively dynamic States (Lagos) eager to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation, youth and growth largely led by the digital sector.

Global Gateway is the EU’s positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.

The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions.

Together, they aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.

EU Invests Additional €45 million in Nigeria’s Digital Economy