Gender Advocates Seek Passage of Equal Opportunity Bill in Cross River

By Irene Offiong

The Gender and Development Action (GADA), alongside key stakeholders, have urged the Cross River State House of Assembly to pass the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill into law.

The stakeholders, who cut across every sector of society, convened in Calabar, the Cross River State, southern Nigeria for deliberations ahead of the local government election.

The meeting agreed to embark on aggressive advocacy to relevant political stakeholders in Cross River to drum “Support for women candidates and aspirants for the local government elections and 2027 general elections as well as strengthened coalition for gender equality.”

Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, former member representing Odukpani/Calabar Municipality Federal House of Representatives; ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti; and co-founder and board member of GADA

The convener of the meeting, a co-founder and board member of GADA, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, said, “This is 16 years of representing the same bill to the national assembly. Fundamentally, we are trying to change the construct in society; we should have a more inclusive society.’

Toyo, who served as a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives and ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti, added “The Gender Equal Opportunity Bill says whether a woman or man, there should be equal opportunity for you. It means we should make an effort to eliminate any encumbrance, taking affirmative action to bridge the gap.”

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According to the development activist and politician, “The bill also provides for a commission that would address the issue of equal opportunity. The Federal Character Commission exist to address certain gaps, but the bill is targeted at equal opportunity for the less opportune.

“We are very hopeful that having faced the crisis that it faced the last time, with the five gender bills being thrown out, this time round we have done sufficient work to see that this Bill does not fail. It is embarrassing that in 20 years we are still tackling the same issue,” Toyo stated.

In a remark, the only female state lawmaker in the Houses of Assembly, the member representing Yakurr II State Constituency, Dr Mercy Akpama said, “The Gender Equal Opportunity Bill should not be debated.”

Continuing, the legislator said, “Equal opportunity means let there be equity, justice and fairness. Together with GADA and other stakeholders, we will present this bill on the floor of the house.”

Earlier, the GADA Programme Manager, Nnenna Ugbor, during an overview of the GEO bill said, “It is about ensuring that women, particularly those in rural areas, young women, and women with disabilities, have equal opportunities to participate in all spheres of life, especially in political leadership.”

Eti-Eka Henrietta Akpera, head of Akai Effa Qua Clan (2nd Left)

In separate contributions, the head of Akai Effa Qua Clan, Eti-Eka Henrietta Akpera and the Country Director, International Training, Research and Advocacy Project, Dr MacFarlane Eja, pledged to support the passage of the bill in Cross River State due to its overall important in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.