Some female candidates in the just concluded general elections have described how they were threatened, harassed and subjected to other inhuman acts by fellow politicians.
They spoke weekend in Abuja at a ‘Strategy Meeting on Experiment Sharing of Female Candidates in the 2019 General Elections’, organised by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) interested in improving women participation in politics and governance.
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A senatorial candidate of the PDP in Oyo State and former Leader of the House of Representatives, Mrs Mulikat Akande Adeola, said women believed in doing what was right.
Akande, who sought to represent Oyo Central Senatorial District, said, “During the general elections, people were ready to do anything. We saw violence, militarization, voter inducement and lots more. I was the preferred candidate and my constituents were still in shock that I was not declared winner,” she said.
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Similarly, Mrs. Christina Ude, who contested for the House of Reps for Orlu/Oru East/ Orsu Federal Constituency of Imo State, said she was threatened days to the election.
On her part, Mrs. Phina Kanu who contested for Abia State House of Assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said that she was physically intimidated during the poll.
The Chief Executive Officer of NWTF, Mrs Mufilat Fijabi, said the meeting was to beam searchlights on the experiences women had in the general elections and specifically those of candidates.
She said women representation in elective offices had continued to decline since 2007, and that with the 2019 elections results, Nigeria had gone lower in the ranking of nations with women representation, hence the need to salvage the situation.
