Elections: Forum seeks support for female candidates in Sokoto

By Muhammad Nasir

Sokoto Feb. 14, 2023

The Women in Politics Forum has sought for more support for female candidates across Sokoto State ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mrs. Ebere Ifendu, the forum’s President made the call at a summit organised in Sokoto on Tuesday to address stakeholders as the elections draw nearer.

According to her, the support required by women in the forthcoming elections cut across all stakeholders and actors in the political process.

“This includes the electoral body, security agencies, media, Civil Society Organisations, political parties and the electorate.

“For the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), we call for gender inclusion in the deployment of officials on the election days.

“INEC should ensure that staffers to be deployed are properly trained and scrutinised to avoid any attempt to manipulate the electoral process.

“It should also ensure that everything necessary is done for Nigerians to be able to collect their PVCs before the expiration of the extended deadline,” Ifendu urged.

She also appealed to the media organs to give more access to female candidates, adding: “Such access will enable us to communicate our vision to the electorate.

“More so, the media should ensure stories are fact-checked before they are released to avoid the spread of fake news and hate speech that can trigger electoral and political violence,” she stressed.

The president, while appreciating the security agencies on the successes recorded at the Anambra, Ekiti and Osun élections, implored them to be more proactive toward the success of the 2023 elections.

“We also ask the security agencies to work more with female candidates across political parties in the country to provide security support during this electioneering period,” she added.

Ifendu further urged political parties to ensure that agents were properly trained before being deployed to avoid any attempt to sabotage the electoral process or trigger any act of violence.

“On the electorate, we should make use of the INEC extension of deadline to pick our PVCs and come out on all the election days to vote for our conscience,“ Ifendu said.

She thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Electoral Bill into law and INEC for improving the electoral process, as well as the CSOs for their contributions to the electoral process so far.