Hausa, Yoruba women dumps Buhari, declare support for Atiku

Ahead of February 16th presidential election, women groups from various ethnic groups in the country living in Ebonyi State have distanced themselves from the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared support for former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

The women said the APC government had failed to live up to the expectations of Nigerians in infrastructure, security and job creation.

The women made their position known on Monday at Friends of Atiku Campaign Office in Abakaliki when they paid a solidarity visit to the state coordinator of the group, Linus Abaa Okorie.

Speaking on behalf of others, the leader of Benue State women in the state, Mrs. Ujoh Rose, condemned what she described ‘disheartening treatment being meted to the women under the current APC government,” saying the time has come to end the development.

She noted that women were not being carried along in the scheme of things under the current government due to the belief of the leader of the government that women should belong to the ‘other room’

Ujoh, who retired as assistant director of Administration at the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, said, “If you take time to study how politicians handle women and youths during campaigns and after elections, it is very disheartening; because they only value us during elections only to discard us after victory.

“Since I retired from service, no benefits, no entitlements, nothing at all. Each time I called the man in charge, he would say ‘I am in a meeting’. What kind of meeting is that that holds everyday and which does not end? It is time to change that, and it is our belief that Atiku Abubakar will be very different when he come on board on May 29th.

“As leaders of women groups from various tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria, we shall galvanize our fellow women in this state to ensure the victory of Atiku Abubabar come February 16th.

In her remarks, Mrs. Hajia Adiza Abubakar, leader of Hausa women in Ebonyi from Adamawa State, said reports of killings and insecurity across the country demanded urgent attention, stressing that Atiku Abubakar was the only presidential candidate with the experience and political will to tackle the challenges.