Date: 2019-10-28

One hundred and sixty-nine additional women groups have praised Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for nominating nine women, or 56.25 per cent as commissioner-designates.

This came barely 72 hours after dozens of women associations held a news briefing in Abuja to congratulate the governor on the gesture.

Also, in a personal letter addressed to the governor at the weekend, a London-based development advocate and first class graduate of Economics, Taibat Hussain Aduragba, hailed AbdulRazaq for making Kwara the first in practical commitment to include women in decision-making process in the country.

The More Women Group, an amalgam of at least 169 women bodies across Nigeria, issued a statement at the weekend, hailing AbdulRazaq for breaking the yoke of poor representation of women and youths in governance.

A statement signed by Dr. Abiola Akiyode Afolabi and Ms Felicia Onibon on behalf of the amalgam, said: "This gesture will be recorded in history as the first of its kind in Nigeria…. The appointment demonstrates his support for women voices and serves as a recognition of their relevance in the society."

The More Women Group has long established itself as the voice of women, including female professionals and experts representing different regions, ethnicities, economic, social and political allegiances as well as organisations for youths and persons with disabilities.

The group said: "Modelling a best practice of this nature is important for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). We, therefore, applaud the governor for breaking the cycle of women's exclusion in Nigeria. We commend the All Progressives Congress (APC) for supporting this development in the state and call on other governors to imbibe the culture of equitable representation for better and prosperous governance."