Seven women are among those who made the ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu as unveiled by the Senate on Thursday.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read Tinubu’s letter containing the names of ministerial nominees personally delivered to the plenary by the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajamiabila.
The women up for ministerial nominees include:
Betta Edu: APC National Women Leader and former Commissioner of Health in Cross River state.
Hannatu Musawa: Lawyer and the current Special Adviser to Tinubu on Culture and Entertainment Economy.
Stella Okotete: Executive Director (Business Development) at the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank.
Doris Uzoka-Anite: Former Commissioner for Finance and Coordinating Economy in Imo State.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha: Member of the House of Representatives representing the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency of Abia State.
Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim: Ex-Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) from December 1, 2020, till May 27, 2021.
Hon. Uju Kennedy Ohaneye: Real estate mogul and an educationist who was also APC’s only female presidential candidate in the February 25 election.
Section 42 of the constitution states that “(a) the nomination of any person to the office of a Minister for confirmation by the Senate shall be done within sixty days after the date the President has taken the oath of office;
“(b) not less than ten per cent of persons appointed as Ministers shall be women:
“Provided that the President may appoint a Minister at any other time during his tenure and such appointment shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.”
The piece of legislation further prescribes that the president shall appoint at least a minister from each of the 36 states of the federation.
Women groups have since lauded the president over the appointment of women but expect more nominations.
It would be recalled that the UNWomen had earlier urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure 50 per cent female representation in his forthcoming appointments for ministers, heads of agencies and parastatals.
Beatrice Eyong, UNWomen Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS said, “We are advocating for 50 per cent women representation in public offices as President Bola Tinubu prepares to release names of Ministers and heads of agencies and parastatals of the government.
“We call on the President to make this a reality.”
