A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has slammed the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, while commenting on a chart showing the African countries with the highest number of women in their parliaments.
The chart, compiled by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), shows Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa in first, second, and third positions, respectively.
Nigeria ranks 180th in the chart, with only 4.4 per cent of its parliamentary seats occupied by women.
In a post on social media, Ezekwesili linked Nigeria’s position in the chart to the way Akpabio allegedly treats women in the Senate.
She said, “Look at how even war-torn Congo is way above Nigeria, which sits at the lowest position in this ranking of countries based on the number of women in parliament.
“Connect the dots to the appalling behavior of men like @Senator_Akpabio, who specializes in harassing his female colleagues over whom the Constitution gives him no authority to humiliate as he pleases.”
She further stated that Nigeria has a duty to address “this terrible data of only 4.4 per cent of women in our National Assembly.”
Ezekwesili made this statement days after the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, challenged Akpabio over a new sitting arrangement in the chambers.
The challenge led to an uproar in the chambers, with Akpoti-Uduaghan raising her voice because Akpabio refused to acknowledge her contribution at plenary for not speaking from the new seat assigned to her.
