A women pressure and gender advocacy group under the auspices of League of Women Voters of Nigeria NILOWV Benue State Chapter has described appointment of the first female Secretary to the State Government, SSG by Governor Hyacinth Alia as a testament of his commitment to gender inclusivity and diversity in governance.
The forum which stated this in a congratulatory message to the new SSG Barrister Mrs Deborah Aber noted that the appointment of a woman into the exalted position was in fulfilment of the commitment of Governor Alia during the meeting convened by NILOWV on gender inclusion in governance with support from Palladium and funded by USAID, saying appointment further prove that the Governor was a man of his words.
In a message by the Chairperson League of Women Voters of Nigeria Benue State Chapter Lady Ruth Kpengwa, the league expressed confidence in the ability of the new SSG to perform her duties creditably which is an attestation that women were capable of steering affairs of the state in diverse ways and ensuring development of the state.
Lady Kpengwa described the appointment of Mrs Aber as a victory for the league in the state and the nation as a whole and encouraged her to be a good ambassador of the Nigeria woman.
The league however expressed dissatisfaction with the disregard of the thirty-five percent affirmative action by political parties in the recently conducted party primaries for the local government polls where women were denied women leadership space in the third tier of government.
It called on the All Progressives Party APC and People’s Democratic Party PDP to take immediate steps to address the exclusion so as promote equality and also appreciate women for their contributions to the development of the state and electoral process.