Victoria Emmah, the executive director of Neighbourhood Care Well Foundation, says the 2023 International Women’s Day remains a sad occasion because of the kidnap of Gertrude Njar, the women’s affairs commissioner in Cross River.

Ms Emmah, whose organisation has cared for women and children for over 20 years, said it had been five weeks since Ms Njar was kidnapped.

“Until Nigeria recognises that women are not only meant to be in the kitchen and ‘the other room’ but in the boardrooms bringing meaningful strategies to address developmental issues, we will not grow like other nations,” stated Ms Emmah.

She added, “Women should be allowed to take up positions like Prof. Dora Akunyili, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, and many other women presently leading huge corporate institutions have proved that we can do it.”

Betta Edu, APC national women leader, called for the inclusion of more women in the Federal Executive Council (FEC). She stated this on Wednesday in Calabar while commemorating the IWD.

Ms Edu, a former health commissioner in Cross River, said, “In this new administration, we need more women in the Federal Executive Council, and all the boards of parastatals need to be made up of 35 per cent women.”

She added, “Also, we need interventions and programmes from the federal government; we need quotas that are specifically dedicated to the women. Competence has to be the watchword. We need women with capacity, competence and can represent; we have a lot of them in society.”

(NAN)