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Male, Female Rotational Presidency Will Bring Good Governance – Group

Published

4 years ago

March 7, 2022

A gender-based organisation, 100 Women Lobby Group, has said that rotational presidency between male and female candidates would provide fair, equitable, and effective governance in Nigeria.

According to the a report in a research carried out by the group, only 20 per cent of politically active women in Nigeria are interested in contesting for offices, while only 26 per cent had contested.

The national coordinator of 100 Women Lobby Group, Felicia Onibon, said the report titled: ‘Status of women’s political participation in Nigeria: Improving electoral integrity and accountability in Nigeria project’, comprised a survey questionnaire administered to 1,201 women in rural and urban areas in four geo-political zones in Nigeria, with a specific section administered to women engaged in active politics.

Onibon said the findings drew attention to the gender bias and patriarchy that lies at the heart of why women are under-represented in government and the necessity for definitive action to support women’s political participation.

“Overall, respondents agree that the country will be better off if more women are elected into government positions. Ninety-eight per cent of respondents from the South-West and North-East ranked highest on this opinion followed by the North-Central and South-East with 95 and 92 per cent, respectively. There is really not much significant difference among zones.

“Overall, 40 per cent of respondents are of the opinion that rotation of presidential position between male and female candidates will provide a fair, equitable, and effective governance for Nigeria”, the research revealed.

Other key findings of the report obtained by The PUNCH included that “Only 20 per cent of politically active women were interested in running for office, while only 26 per cent had actually run. Only seven per cent of respondents got their electoral information from the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

It further noted, “While 83 per cent would donate to a woman’s political ambition, only 29 per cent had actually done so. Seventy-three per cent of respondents felt that the lack of encouragement from their communities was primarily responsible for low political participation.

“Analysis indicate that overall, 73 per cent of respondents are of the opinion that what holds women back from politics is ‘women don’t have encouragement and support from their families. The lowest reason adduced to this is that women don’t have educational qualifications for politics.”

Among others, the report recommended the development of national and local platforms to recruit young women who aspire to participate in politics, especially at the tertiary education level.

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Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger

Published

16 hours ago

September 17, 2025

Editor

Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.

The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.

A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.

“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.

“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.

Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.

Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.

Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.

Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.

Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.

AFP

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Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.

The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.

“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.

The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.

The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.

In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.

AFP

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Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.

Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.

“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.

Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.

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“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.

There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.

A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.

“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.

AFP