Women Must Be Identified in Politics and Elective Positions in the State – Gov. Matawalle Vows

Women Must Be Identified in Politics and Elective Positions in the State – Gov. Matawalle Vows

AREWA AGENDA – The Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Hon. (Dr) Bello Mohammed Matawalle, MON, FSESN, has guaranteed that women in the state must be carried along in politics and politicking in a bid to give them fair opportunity to contribute their own quarter for the development of the state and the society.

Governor Bello Matawalle declared the above while receiving the first premier women organization in the north popularly known as Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa (the Northern Women Group) in the Government House, Gusau recently.

Women according the Governor are already captured in his Government where many of them have gotten a chance to be playing key roles in various posts at various levels. He added that a sizeable number of women have to be encouraged to join politics and participate in all facet of life endeavor be it education, governance, and administration as helping women is a cardinal principle in his administration, adding that there are a number of policies introduced by his administration to give women high status in society.

The Governor mentioned that the Zamfara state Government under his leadership has provided enabling laws to give female gender protection such as the Child Right Act which was signed into law. The state Government has also made provision for the prohibition of hawking especially during school hours, provision of Girl Child with free education, free meal among others in order to empower women.

In her statement earlier, the National President of the Group Hajiya Rabi Saulawa recalled that the Group is now 50 years old of its existence and was formed with the sole aim of giving the women a voice in the society.

Hajiya Saulawa informed the Executive Governor that they were in the state to pally with the Government of Zamfara state under his able leadership because of the prominence he attached to the upliftment of women in the society.

The leader of the Group, Hajiya Saulawa further explicated that unlike the bad news daily carried on the media especially the social networking sites about insecurity in the state, they found Zamfara to be a home of peace and development. She recollected that she was in the state last in 2019 to galvanize support of the women in the state and that a state chapter has been in existence in Zamfara since 2017.

According to her, they feel more comfortable now given the fact that Governor Bello Matawalle in the contemporary politics in Nigeria, his personality is endeared by everyone. The visit she said is a familiarization one and a demonstration of women solidarity for Governor Bello Matawalle because of his numerous achievements.

Matawalle has achieved, in her words “I quickly googled to find out your achievements in the state, and I found that you have given key roles to women in your cabinet, appointments in various Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Boards and Directorates, including appointments of Executive Secretaries”. Other areas of remarkable achievements include education, public service and security. She also applauded the Governor for always being gender-sensitive by giving women the protection they have been yearning for.

The visit coincided with the day set aside globally to celebrate as “International Day of the Girl Child”, which is tagged: “Our Time Is Now – Our Rights, Our Future”. The group requested the Governor to be named “the Father of the Jam’iyyar Matan Arewa”, which formed the highest point of the visit.