Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Women for 35% Initiative of the AJU Morgan Elumelu Foundation has condemned the impeachment of the Executive Chairman of Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Hon. Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen.
The group described the development, which occurred on Tuesday, as a disturbing setback for women’s participation in Nigerian politics.
Allen, who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and sworn in on May 29, 2024, was the only female among the eight elected local government chairmen in Bayelsa State.
In a statement signed by the founder of the foundation and Convener of the Women for 35% Initiative, Ambassador AJU Elumelu, the organisation alleged that Allen had faced intimidation, pressure and political harassment over her reported refusal to defect from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The foundation said it had refrained from making public comments while monitoring developments, hoping that dialogue and respect for democratic principles would resolve the dispute.
It, however, expressed concern that the situation had eventually culminated in the chairman’s impeachment.
The statement noted: “Hon. Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen was elected under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party and sworn into office on May 29, 2024.
She received a mandate from the people of Sagbama Local Government Area to serve them, and we believe that mandate deserves to be respected.”
The organisation also raised questions over reports that another person, Hon. Diepreye Rosline Yankee, who was elected Councillor and Leader of the House, had subsequently been sworn in as Acting Chairman of the local government.
It said the reported development raised fundamental questions about the protection of elected mandates and the freedom of politicians, particularly women, to exercise their political choices.
The statement read, “If an elected Local Government Chairman can be pressured to abandon the political party under which she was elected and subsequently face impeachment after refusing to do so, and if another person can then be secretly sworn in to occupy the position, then we must ask ourselves: What does this mean for the future of democracy and women’s participation in politics in Nigeria?”
The Women for 35% Initiative said its intervention was not aimed at supporting one political party against another but at defending the participation of women in democratic governance.
It argued that the removal of one of the few women who had successfully secured an elective political position should concern stakeholders committed to gender inclusion and democratic consolidation.
The foundation said women had consistently been encouraged to contest elections and seek leadership positions, but questioned what happens when they eventually win and attempt to exercise their mandates independently.
He said, “What happens when a woman actually wins? What happens when she refuses to be politically intimidated? What happens when she chooses to exercise her political freedom and remain with the party under which she was elected?
“Must the price of a woman remaining in political leadership be intimidation, humiliation and eventual removal?”
The group urged relevant authorities, democratic institutions, civil society organisations, women’s groups and other defenders of democracy to closely scrutinise the developments in Sagbama and ensure that the rights and dignity of elected public officials were protected.
It also called on all parties to the dispute to pursue available constitutional and legal channels to resolve the matter peacefully and transparently.
According to the organisation, the campaign for 35 per cent affirmative action should not end with increasing the number of women elected into political offices, but must also ensure that women who secure such positions are able to exercise their mandates without discrimination, coercion or intimidation.
“The struggle for 35% affirmative action is not simply about getting women into political offices. It is about creating a political environment where women can enter, remain, lead and complete their mandates without intimidation or discrimination,” it said.
The foundation further warned that the treatment of women in political office could discourage younger women from seeking elective positions.
“We will continue to ask: Why are there so few women in political leadership? And when the few who make it there are allegedly pushed around, pressured and eventually removed, what message are we sending to the next generation of women who want to lead?” it asked.
The organisation called for Allen’s case to be treated fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law, insisting that women should not merely be given opportunities to contest elections but should also be respected when they win.
“Women must not only be given a seat at the table. They must be allowed to remain at the table,” the statement added.