Presidential aide urges NASS to support gender parity bill

The Senior Special Assistant to the President, Dr Hajo Sani, has urged members of the National Assembly to support the Gender Parity and Prohibition of Violence Against Women Bill.

This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, March 21, 2016, by Sani, President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide on Administration Matters.

She said Nigerian women were aware of the fact that the National Assembly understood their yearnings and therefore expect them to promote all laws for the protection of women’s rights and their potentialities.

She said the lawmakers should be aware of Nigeria's commitment to various international instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Kinds of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the African Charter for Human and People's Rights, among others.

"It is in this light that I want to thank the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, for requesting that the proposed bill on gender parity and prohibition of violence against women be re-presented to the senate.

"The Senate President has urged women to go back to the drawing table and review the document in such a way that it will stand a test of plausibility.

"We are very hopeful that the content of the revised bill will appeal to many senators for adaptation as no nation prospers when over half of its population is disenfranchised,” she said.

Sani also commended the sponsor of the bill, Sen. Abiodun Olujimi, for her courage, especially now that the senate is made up of only six per cent women.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Senate recently rejected the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill at its second reading.