*technicalities stopping her from leadership position is unacceptable – Ezra
*say she is candidate to beat, already altering political dynamics, rattling political space
By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Hundreds of women in Adamawa State have taken to the streets of Yola to protest what they described as court technicalities targeted at stopping Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani, the All Progressives Congress (APC), governorship candidate of the party.
The women in their numbers, staged a peaceful walk, chanting “sai Binani” holding placards with the inscription “No Woman, No Nation, it’s her mandate give it back to her”.
They fumed at the judgment of a High Court in Yola, saying it targets stopping women folk from holding leadership positions.
The peace walk which was organized by the Adamawa State Chapter of Women in Politics, addressed journalists, while expressing dismay and vehemently kicked against the marginalization of women in the political space, especially by political parties who tend to deliberately put obstacles on the path of the female gender during the primary election that saw Binani emerge winner.
Comfort Ezra, the leader of the women’s group at a press conference immediately after the rally, told newsmen that the recent court judgment delivered by a Federal High Court sitting in Yola, which refused to uphold the election of Binani, the only female governorship candidate in Nigeria for the 2023 general election of the APC, is a wake-up call to all women in the country.
According to Mrs. Ezra, the call is not for Adamawa women alone, it’s a call for all women across the country to ensure that she is not ripped off her mandate using technicalities.
The women leader who led the peaceful walk chanting solidary songs for Senator Aisha said the winning by Binani has rattled the menfolk, not only in APC, and the technicalities of seeking to refuse her the ticket through the court is a deliberate effort by male counterparts to stop women from becoming leaders and they consider it an affront on all women.
“We do not understand why the men whom she defeated with a wide margin of votes, will not display sportsmanship and accept the verdict of the people but seek to use the courts to upturn the mandate popularly and transparently entrusted to Senator Binani.
” We are calling on all women across Nigeria to lend their voices and stand firm to see that Senator Binani’s mandate is not thwarted through the backdoor. Binani’s mandate is one for every woman and all should arise to protect the mandate.
“In as much as we are law-abiding and respect our courts of law, we are calling on the higher court to do justice in the case without fear or favour. Because we believe that the court of law is the last hope of the common people.” Comfort said.
She continued to say that the APC should also stand by Binani because recent events have proven that she is the candidate to beat in the Adamawa Governorship election of 2023, she is already the dynamics and rattling the political space.
“You all might want to know why the PDP Government in Adamawa swiftly replaced its deputy governor candidate with a woman immediately Binani won the APC Governorship primary election. The fear of Binani is the beginning of the catch-up strategy.
“We urge women stakeholders in the political space to rise and defend women by protecting the mandate duly given to Binani.
“We must all remember that women are nation builders and can adequately manage resources and deliver on the needs of the people,” Ezra added.
