•Kicks Against Gender Bias.
THE Oyo State House of Assembly on Thursday over ruled the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, by rejecting two (2) local government chairmanship nominees during the screening exercise as against the wish of the governor who had earlier nominated them.
According to the Chairman, House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Honourable Bolaji Badmus representing Akinyele II state constituency in his report disclosed that his committee has cleared 55 nominees and dropped two (2) who could not meet up with the required certificates and screening processes.
Those that were affected are Mudasir Agbaje from Irepo Local Government Area, Kishi and Taiwo Adeleke, Asabari LCDA.
He hinted further that the house has requested for re-nomination of two new nominees from the State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to fill the vacuum.
Refreshing your memory, the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi had last week sent 57 names of the nominees to the house for screening.
The list, which consists 28 names of appointees as Caretaker Chairmen for 28 local government areas and another 29 names for 29 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) recently created by the state.
Also, Honourable Josuha Oyebamiji from Akinyele I state constituency, who also chairs House Committee on Information, told journalists that the house dropped the duo due to failure to produce the necessary certificates and low performances at the screening.
Honourable Joshua stressed, “they were dropped for two reasons, paper qualifications and low performances at the screening.
“You have to be physically, mentally and psychologically fit to head a local government, they are like mini governor in their respective locations. We expect them to be intelligent and able to manage interactions among the people. We are not looking for people who cannot govern our people well.
In a related development, the female members in the State House of Assembly expressed strong disapproval over the 57- all-men nominees’ list for the position of Chairmen in the 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.
They called for nomination of qualified women for the positions in the subsequent exercise.
In their separate reactions to the report of the committee on local government and Chieftaincy affairs, Chairman House Committee on Women Affairs, Honourable Olawumi Oladeji (Ogbomoso North) and her Finance and Appropriation counterpart, Honourable Bolanle Agbaje (Ibadan North 1) tagged the list that does not have a single woman as “gender biased” and an attempt to silence the women folk.
Oladeji in her agitation before being interrupted by the Speaker, Honourable Michael Adeyemo insisted that the list was targeted at “discriminating against women”.
Speaking further, she cited the examples of herself, Hilary Clinton and other women who have excelled in their chosen careers, while recalling the attention of the house to the Beijing conference of China in 1995 and the 35 percent affirmative action which reserves at least 35% slots for women in any elective or non- elective positions in Nigeria.
She said, “Women should be given the opportunity, there is no single female here, I have been in this house performing my duties likewise other women have been performing too, Hilary Clinton performed well as Secretary of State in the USA. There are examples of women who have performed well too.
“My submission is that subsequently there should be slots for women. Women should be nominated”.
“It was wrong that there is no single woman nominated to head the council areas”, Agbaje maintained.
Responding, the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Michael Adeyemo said: “your submission is noted, the committee has noted it, so it is inside the report and we have already noted the observation. It is part of our recommendations.
He, however explained that the fault was not from the house but from the executive, adding that the house does not have right to nominate but to screen.
Presently, male lawmakers in the Oyo State House of Assembly consists of 30 men and only two women.
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