Stella Oduah
The President of ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA), Stella Oduah, has called for a level-playing ground and equal opportunities for aspirants and candidates contesting elections.
In an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja yesterday, Oduah urged that more women should be given the chance or supported for elective and appointive positions.
She said the segregation of women in politics should stop, stressing that it was unfair to tag a woman as a “woman leader” while a man in a similar position is regarded as a leader without the prefix.
“When that happens, the best of the women will emerge; women and men will vote for the female not because she is a female but because she is the right candidate for that job.
“Women are saying give us equal opportunity, give us equal right: we want gender parity.
“Until this is done, West Africa remains a long way to the development that the regional bloc so desires,” she said.
Oduah seeks equal opportunities for women in politics
