Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has reacted to viral videos showing women protesting naked in Nasarawa State over the outcome of the March 18 governorship election.
WITHIN NIGERIA reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Abdullahi Sule, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the gubernatorial election, and the women took to the streets to express their displeasure.
The women scoffed at INEC’s declaration of Sule as the election winner, despite disagreements over the results from Gayam and Ciroma electoral wards in the state capital.
Some of the women in the video wore black while protesting, while others stripped naked and bitterly expressed their displeasure.
In response to the news, Peter Obi expressed his heartbreak on Twitter, saying that women who should be respected and honored have been degraded.
The former governor of Anambra state reiterated his commitment to having 40% of his administration comprised of women, adding that the country must ensure that the people’s mandate is not stolen from them.
He said:
I just came across a sad, heartbreaking video where Nasarawa women staged a topless protest as a means of registering their displeasure with the election results.
The purpose of election is for citizens to participate in democratic governance through the representatives they elect. A grievous injustice occurs when citizens are denied the opportunity to vote in a free, fair and credible process or their mandate is stolen from them.
Our women who should be honoured and respected, and their rights protected, have been degraded and left to seek justice the only way they can trust by calling on their creator.
I remain committed to 40% affirmative action for women in political appointments and will encourage the same in the corporate world. As a nation, we must do better and ensure that the mandate of the people is not stolen from them.
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