2019: Ezekwesili makes vow to women, youths

A former minister for education who is running for the office of the President, Mrs Obi Ezekwesili has made a promise to women and youths in Nigeria if she clinched the seat.

She promised to make more women and youths members of her cabinet if elected president in the 2019 general election.

Ezekwesili who is running under the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) spoke on Sunday in Anambra shortly after addressing market women at Afor-Ukpor market, Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area of the state.

Explaining her promise, Ezekwesili said statistics showed women tend to perform better than men when provided the right environment.

While expressing confidence in INEC to conduct credible elections, she, again, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the pending electoral amendment bill.

She said, “One of the research for development showed that women in Osun state, who were given the same amount of inputs as their male counterparts, performed more than their male counterparts by 40 per cent.

“We will do everything in terms of our policies, rules and procedures to empower our women in the agricultural sector.”

“So, if we must tackle poverty in Nigeria, we must focus very much on women and young people.”

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“It will be an inclusive government where merit and competence will guide our selection and where every part of the country is well represented in governance.”

“INEC is able to do it but may not do it because of political pressures that may come upon it; that is why we as citizens must insist that electoral integrity is a sine qua non for the 2019 elections.

“It is therefore imperative that President Mohammed Buhari is prevailed upon to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill 2018,” she said.

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