Congratulations to Governor AbdulRazaq on his ‘HeforShe’ Award -Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies

United Nations conferred Governor AbdulRazaq with the ‘HeforShe’ Award

State Governor AbdulRazaq of Kwara state is ranked first and the only State with a majority of women in its cabinet

A frontline female Politician, Presidential Candidate of MAJA, in 2019, Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, a Communication Arts expert, in the field of Applied Linguistics, a Don and a lecturer in Port Harcourt has congratulated the Kwara State Governor AbdulRazaq on his ‘HeforShe’ Award, also as Kwara state has been ranked first and the only State with a majority of women in its cabinet.

“We are proud of you Governor AbdulRazaq,” she said, “More grace, and more grease to your elbow your excellency Mr. governor sir, as you keep involving all women the irrespective of their religion tribe and culture in Kwara state – The state of harmony.”

Kwara state has came first in the state ranking cabinet record of 2019-2023 with 56% appointed women on the cabinet by Governor AbdulRazaq (Women’s representation in African Politics (WRAPs).

This is one of the several reasons the United Nations has conferred Governor AbdulRazaq with the ‘HeforShe’ award, for his efforts and cabinet picks, which have mainstreamed gender inclusion in the Nigeria’s political structure

Furthermore, showing results for Kwara state governor, Gob. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on women and female records account on search online, in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the review revealed:

In 2020, “TheCable reports, at
https://www.thecable.ng › amp Kwara governor appoints 12 female permanent secretaries on 9 Sept 2020 — AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara, has appointed 12 female permanent secretaries in the state. In a statement on Wednesday, …”

“Vanguard News reports, at
www.vanguardngr.com Governor AbdulRazaq signs into law 35% Inclusion of Women on 11 Dec 2021 — “A unique feature of this legislation is that no gender class shall henceforth have below 35% representation in the State Executive …”

“Businessday NG reports, at
https://businessday.ng › News -Kwara governor assents to bill mainstreaming 35% gender ….8 Dec 2021 — Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State on Tuesday assented to an executive bill mandating the state to have at least …”

“Tribune Online reports, at
tribuneonlineng.com
Women Affairs: Kwara govt is committed to gender inclusion on 21 Jan 2022 — Apart from being the first governor to nominate a female majority cabinet in the country, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State … “

“Voice of Nigeria.reports, at
https://von.gov.ng › iwd-women-ar…IWD: Women Are Great Team Players- says Kwara Governor on 7 Mar 2023 — Governor. Abdulrazaq said Kwara state, under him will remain a record holder and positive reference point in gender inclusion in …”

“Royal FM 95.1 reports, at
http://royalfm.net › international-w…. AbdulRazaq expresses commitment to gender inclusion 8 Mar 2023 — Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has expressed his commitment to gender inclusion in his government. AbdulRazaq, in a statement by …”

Thus, “The Independent Newspaper Nigeria reports, at
https://independent.ng › Politics Kwara Women Will Reward Governor AbdulRazak With Their …9 Jan 2023 — Hajia Mopelola at Abdulmaliq-Bashir is the Kwara State Commissioner for Women Affairs. In this interview, she speaks on the performance of …”

Therefore, Daily Trust reports, at dailytrust.com IWD: Kwara women hold rally for Gov AbdulRazaq 11 Mar 2023 — Thousands of Kwara women, led by female government cabinet members and ruling APC candidates, on Saturday held a rally to mobilize support for … “

Twitter reports, in 2023 at
https://twitter.com › firstladykwara Kwara State First Lady (@firstladykwara) Olufolake Abdulrazaq on Thursday 24th November attended the inauguration ceremony of the executive members of the Association of Kwara women tailors, etc.

Overall, Kwara state ranks high in women participation in the country, while Nigeria has been recording low in participation of women in both elective and appointive positions all over the states. This is a growing concern to many women and Nigerians over time.

However, concerted efforts is being made by government and non -governmental organizations to increase the level of participation of women in politics in line with the declaration made at the
fourth World Conference on women in Beijing, which advocated 30% affirmative action.

In Nigeria, the extant National Gender Policy (NGP) recommended 35% affirmative action instead and sought for a more inclusive
representation of women with at least 35% of both elective political and appointive public service positions respectively.

The under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which were obvious from pre-colonial era till date.

The re-introduction of democratic governance has witnessed once again an increase in women political participation both in elective and Nigeria has been recording low participation of women in both elective and appointive positions which the government and governor of Kwara state exemplifies.

The national average of women’s political participation in Nigeria has remained 6.7 percent in
elective and appointive positions, which is far below the Global Average of 22.5 percent, Africa Regional is Average of 23.4 percent and West African Sub Regional is Average of 15 percent.

Moreso, Nigeria is yet to produce a female governor in any of the 36 states of the Federation. There is still so much grounds to be covered.

PMA – Voice of Voiceless Nigerians (VVN).