Posted on: 02:56 Thu, 03 Aug 2017

Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu appears to have stepped on the feet of women in the Sunshine State due to the gender imbalance in his list of commissioner nominees.



Barely 24 hours after the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, released the list of 18 commissioner-nominees, some women in the state on Wednesday faulted the list, saying the governor was biased for not including many women on the list.

The governor on Tuesday sent the names of the 18 commissioner nominees to the Ondo State House of Assembly for confirmation. The list comprised 16 males and two females.

The women, under the auspices of Ondo State Women Must Count, kicked against the development, saying women were being marginalised by the governor.

In a statement issued in Akure, the state capital, the leader of the women’s group, Mrs. Olamide Falana, complained that the inclusion of just two women in the list of 18 commissioner-nominees was unacceptable.

She said, “We express our displeasure and find unacceptable the recent list of commissioners submitted by Governor Akeredolu to the state House of Assembly for screening.

“The said list shows a total disregard for the yearning of the women of the state who hitherto had very high hopes of better representation in numbers in the leadership of the state, especially with the new thinking the governor professed.”

Falana also faulted alleged lopsidedness in the previous appointments made by the governor, saying, “The government is merely paying lip service to issues of gender parity promised in its manifesto.

“This is the worst among all APC-governed states where women have better deal, as gender is not seen as a consideration in development of Ondo State; whereas no nation can develop to its full potential if major stakeholders are not allowed the space for due representation and participation.

“We demand the 35 percent affirmative action in all government appointments,” Falana declared.

She called on Governor Akeredolu and other party leaders to act quickly on the matter in order to avert actions from the entire women in the state.

In his reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Segun Ajiboye, said Akeredolu was a true democrat who recognised the role played by women during the election period and would never maginalise them.

He said, “Women will still get more appointments and it is important that we exercise patience and continue to support the governor in the task of moving the state forward.

“During the campaign and even since inauguration, he (governor) has consistently eulogised the role women played during the election and he has demonstrated this in the choice of women he has appointed as commissioner-nominees, special advisers and special assistants.”