The Kwara state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday called for the amendment of constitution to increase the number of women participation in governance and leadership in Nigeria .

AbdulRazaq made this known at the 7th voice of women conference and award in Abuja after receiving an award for his outstanding contribution to gender empowerment.

The governor who identified Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a gender sensitive President stressed that the current administration is the best time to push for the constitution amendment .

“We have a President that is gender sensitive, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, so I think this is the right time to push for constitution amendment, I know he has the energy too do it , also this is a time to kick start the amendment of constitution.

For me, I have a difficult task in convincing most of our members at NGF to come on the gender issues and move the country forward

“ he said .

He further encouraged other state governors to emulate what he is doing in Kwara state as he points to some of the states initiative to increase women’s participation in leadership and the empowerment of the girl child.

“ I also encourage other states to emulate what we have been doing , we have keyed into different educational and sanitation programs that will encourage girl child to enroll in schools and complete their education, one of such is the adolescent girl initiative for learning. We have similarly introduced then policy of 6 months maternity leave to encourage women to nurture their children at home, we can keep saying what we have done endlessly, but the important thing is , where do we go to from here and how do we achieve more” he added.

Erelu Bisi-Fayemi, VOW2023 Chairperson, in her remarks noted the challenges affecting African women and girls, however, said tremendous progress has been made in changing the political landscape in some countries.

Fayemi further pointed that Nigerian women were more educated and wealthiest in Africa, even though it has not translated into political power, featuring poorly on most global indicators

She, then emphasized the need to change the narrative ,commit to social change, and quality frameworks that could remove oppressive patriarchal norms and values.

“In spite of the many challenges that we continue to face as African women, we have managed to make the case for women’s leadership.

“And in several countries, we have changed the political landscapes in Liberia, Rwanda, Namibia, South Africa and Kenya to mention a few,” she said.

She said: “The most recent Global Gender Gap Index 2023 ranked Nigeria 130th out of 146 countries.

“Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 12 per cent of global figures. “The country also has the highest number of child brides at 22 million, as well as highest in West Africa and 11th highest globally.

Toun Okewale Sonaiye, CEO women Radio 91.7 fm in her remarks pointed how the women Radio has been used to improve the wellbeing of women especially through the RadioDoctor a specialized free health radio consultation program.

According to her , the women radio has over the years remain steadfast in commitment to be apolitical and maintain editorial independence even in the face of uncertainty.

“Across the 6 geopolitical zones , the women radio member are all ready benefits from our corporate social responsibility through the radioDoctor our specialized free health radio consultation program supported by ACT foundations.

In the face of uncertainty, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to be apolitical. Maintain our editorial independence and unapologetically female centric, She said