… Call for replication of outing in State Assembly polls
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
WOMEN Professionals from Kogi Central Senatorial District, have expressed their gratitude to the electorates in the state for turning out en-masse to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The women had trooped out in their thousands in a procession from Okene Local Government Secretariat through the newly constructed Reference Hospital down to Total Filling Station and back to the Secretariat.
They commended the electorates for conducting themselves peacefully and voting overwhelmingly for the party as they applauded Governor Yahaya Bello for creating the enabling environment.
Hajia Rekiyat Onaivo, Kogi State Coordinator, APC Professional Women Council, who led the procession charged Kogi women to replicate their last outing by coming out en masse to vote for APC candidates in the State House of Assembly election come next Saturday.
She said that the ‘Thank You’ road walk became necessary in order to show that women in the Central Senatorial District and the state in general, were solidly in support of Governor Yahaya Bello.
She said that that governor, through his government, had underscored the position of women and given them a pride of place by according them the share of voice they had clamoured for over the years.
The women who chanted victory songs amidst intermittent “Thank you” to Governor Bello prayed against what they termed, “evil spirits that might have been invoked by desperate politicians”, saying, “Darkness will never overcome light.”
Onaivo said the large turnout during the last Presidential and National Assembly elections was an indication that women in Kogi central appreciated Governor Yahaya Bello’s result-oriented women inclusive governance.
The Coordinator who is also the Executive Director Kogi Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA), enjoined women to support the current administration to enable it deliver more dividends of democracy to the people.
Mrs Anne Olurinde, Chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), who also joined the walk, commended the government for making the state resources work for the people.
She said Kogi people had enjoyed peace since the Governor assumed office and that, though journalists must be neutral, they also owed the state and the entire nation the duty of responsible journalism devoid of unfounded panic reporting.
“As the Chairperson of the National Association of Women Journalists, Kogi State Chapter, I want to say we are very happy with the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello.
“He is undoubtedly the only governor in Nigeria that has given women the strongest voice in governance.
“His ADC is a woman, his SSG is a woman, Head of Service (HOS) is a woman, and all the Vice Chairmen of Local Government Councils are women, among other top positions.
“I understand there are over 30 very senior female appointees currently. Don’t forget that he also appointed the first female DG of a presidential campaign organisation.
