2023: Do not Sit-by and Watch, pick your PVC, Go and Vote—Fijabi tells women

21 Nov 2023: Do not Sit-by and Watch, pick your PVC, Go and Vote—Fijabi tells women

Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Ms. Mufuliat Fijabi has charged women to pick-up their PVCs and go cast their votes for candidates of their choice during the 2023 general elections.

Speaking at the Voter Education Sensitization Market Outreach with the theme, ‘Women’s Political Participation and Inclusion in the 2023 General Elections’ at the Garki International Market, Abuja, on Thursday, Fijabi stressed the need for women to participate in all governance processes.

“While there are some who actually cast their votes, many people sit back and rest on the day of elections. They see it as a holiday to rest. Election day is not a public holiday to rest, but to take part in the decisions that will guide our country Nigeria.

After 64 years of independence, Nigeria has not proved itself to be where it should be.  The flaw is with both the leaders and we the people. The people are inspired by ethnicity and religious beliefs instead of the good of the country. We should therefore be deliberate and choose to keep Nigerian values alive by having our PVCs on election day to vote for candidates of our choice during the 2023 general election bearing in mind the considerations for development, protection  and security of the country,” Fijabi said.

She added that Nigeria desperately needs more women in government. “The country and its political institutions cannot grow when half the population is being left behind. With the new Electoral Act, and if we do our part, it will not be long before the electoral system improves.”

Representative of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Laolu Olawumi, said, women should go out and vote for capable women  with integrity that can provide the needed social amenities especially in the rural areas.

Deputy Director of Gender Relations at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, urged women to take advantage of their population to elect other women into various electoral offices.

Women at the event had the opportunity to speak with INEC officialsand ask pertinent questions with regards to their PVCs and the electoral process in general.

The Market Sensitization Outreach is one of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund’s  #Balance4Hecampaign activities funded by EU-SDGN.

The campaign is targeted at increased sensitization on the active participation of women in all governance processes, create voter awarenessand their roles in the 2023 general elections in particular.