Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has said that his government is creating many opportunities for women to take leadership roles in the state.
He declared that his government had always been in support of initiatives and efforts that could help improve female participation in governance.
The governor stated this when he received members of the TOS Foundation, who paid a courtesy visit to his office, saying “I am fully in support of every effort to increase women’s participation in politics.”
According to him, women occupy important positions in his administration, with the Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service and four female Commissioners in the cabinet.
He added that his administration would remain open to collaborations that can promote gender inclusion, saying: “In Oyo State, we are a little bit different. The Head of Service, the SSG tick the box as far as gender inclusivity is concerned.
“Also, there are four female commissioners in the Cabinet. We have women as the Commissioners for Women Affairs, Health, Youth and Sport, and Special Duties.
“When we came into government in 2019, we only had one female member of the State House of Assembly. But today, there are two.
“Yes, maybe just a step, but we believe that step is in the right direction. But one thing that I will say is, all of them got their appointments on merit. It wasn’t about, oh, okay, I should get an SSG that is female, just for the sake of the optics. We are gender-friendly. Yes, we are.
“I know what it is like to be gender sensitive. I will put a caveat to my support, and I can explain why. Sometimes, we think seriously about the problem that we are faced with today.
“Are the problems still going to be there tomorrow? I don’t know. If we are able to solve the problem, what should we do tomorrow?”
Reacting to calls from the foundation to support the Bill for Reserved Seats for Women in Elective Positions, Makinde said the challenges of imbalance in terms of women representation in governance must be approached with foresight, stating that he would support the cause but within a limited time limit.
Leader of the delegation, Osasu Ogwuche, said women have continued to grapple with under-representation, saying “women remain underrepresented in politics despite the progress we have made. It is time to break the glass ceiling.”
She explained that the proposed bill seeks to create gender-affirming provisions that guarantee women a minimum level of representation in elective positions.
