Mrs. Margaret Obi, the Wife of the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi have asked Nigerians especially the women and youths to utilize the 2023 General Elections as a vehicle to vote for patriotic Nigerians with logical capacity. She spoke on Tuesday at Abuja at a Town Hall Meeting on the Theme: “Women for a new Nigeria.”
Mrs. Obi spoke on the state of women affairs in Nigeria, touching on care giving, finance, politics and economy on their impacts on women of Nigeria. She emphasized that there is “better life for our children” when women are more prosperous.
She said, “The time for complaining is over. God has presented us with a unique opportunity and we must do our part as women, mothers of the nation, to truly birth the Nigeria we want to see.
“Do not despair, indeed a New Nigeria is possible, and with your participation, a New Nigeria will be born at the election polls on the 25th of February this year. Here is how we will do it.
“We are gathered here today, because we are patriots who believe Nigeria is worth fighting for our home that we must build with our hands.
“We are here because we believe that the nation is speeding downhill in the wrong direction, and now it is approaching a cliff into a deep dark abyss.
“Together, we must take action to turn the nation around and head it in the right direction. There is no better team to lead Nigeria at a time like this than Peter Obi and Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.
“Women make up 49% of the Nigerian population, and by June this year women and youth already made up over 75% of the registered voters in Nigeria.
“Why then should we suffer in silence? This is why we are making this call to women, you can and must empower the nation to birth a new Nigeria. When things go bad, women are the ones that suffer the most.
“ I therefore, encourage you to look at what the candidates have to offer you as women. Look at their track record and then vote accordingly. From access to finance, to healthcare, and also economic empowerment and inclusive government.”
She further said, “The ObiDatti policies show women that a new Nigeria where women take their rightful place is possible.
“In finance, even though it is women that are the primary caregivers in Nigeria, many women from petty trading, to farming to small businesses to increasingly aspiring to bigger corporations, hustle to ensure their families are well catered for, it is no secret that women suffer disproportionately from lack of access to finance.
“There is a lack of access to credit in the formal sector to 98% of women, yet when you compare those that borrow money with their male counterparts, they perform better, Men have a higher default rate.
“The Obi-Datti pact with women is that they will ensure increased access to finance for women. We know that more money in the hands of women, equates to a better life for our children. We are the ones that are raising the leaders of tomorrow.
“This is why we must step out and vote for ObiDatti ticket and vote for the labour party.
“In human capital development, many women have been rendered as economic consumers, because none has invested in developing their skills to enable them to be economically productive.
“The ObiDatti government has promised to invest in skills training in various fields to ensure that women have the opportunity to participate as active members of the labour workforce.
“These skills will increase the earning potential of women especially those in the rural areas, and afford them the dignity to make money for themselves, thus reducing the chances of those women being helpless victims in abusive relationships.“
“With the Nigerian population made up of over 49% women, women have a higher literacy rate, with between 60% – 70% literacy rate among females, yet it is so disheartening to see that only 6% of the legislature is female.
“What happens when half of the population and more than half of the Population are not in the halls where decisions that affect their lives are made.
“The ObiDatti government is committed to ensuring that women and youth will be represented in government by law. Not a token sprinkling of women, “she concluded.
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