The Atiku/Okowa presidential ticket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday, received a boost with an overwhelming endorsement by members of Ohaneze Ndigbo women drawn from the 36 states of the country.
The endorsement of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, by the women’s wing of the foremost Igbo socio-cultural organization took place at a town hall meeting of the women in Asaba.
National President of the group, Mrs Rita Daniels-Chukwuji, said having viewed all the presidential candidates critically, the members opted for the Atiku/Okowa presidential ticket.
She said that the members were quite convinced that a PDP presidency would inspire sustainable growth and development in the country, assuring that they would vote overwhelmingly for the PDP in Saturday’s presidential election.
Chukwuji disclosed that the event was the first time members of the association were coming together to form a common political goal, and called for women visibility in government to give them a greater sense of belonging in the country’s political space.
She lauded Okowa for the various empowerment programmes of his administration, which according to her, have impacted positively on the lives of women in the state.
“We are happy with your developmental strides in Delta State; the various empowerment programmes of your administration had no doubt impacted positively on the lives of women and youths in the state.
“We are sure that if given the opportunity to become the vice president of Nigeria, you will replicate what you have done here in Delta State at the national level,” she added.
Other members of the association who spoke at the ceremony expressed hope and confidence that the Atiku-Okowa presidency would restore hope for all Nigerians, and pointed out that they were pleased with the development trajectory of Okowa’s administration in Delta.
In his remarks, Okowa thanked the women for agreeing to work for PDP in the presidential and governorship elections and assured them that Atiku-Okowa ticket would give 50 per cent appointment to women and youths in the country.
According to him, Alhaji Abubakar has well tailored programmes that would address the challenges of poverty, hunger, inflation, marginalisation and ethnicity, No effort will be spared in ensuring unity, peace and development take the centre stage.
On insecurity and under-development in the South East, he said that the Atiku-Okowa administration would have a roundtable with stakeholders of the region on how to mitigate the problems, adding that no part of the country would be neglected.
“Listening to the women that have spoken, l believe that there is a lot of work to be done.
“Nigeria of today is not the Nigeria of our dreams because there is hunger in the land. When a child cannot go to school, cannot eat, the pain is on the mother.
“While we all feel the pains of what is going on in Nigeria, the pain of unemployment and hunger are more on the mother.
“By the special grace of God, we believe that there is help on the way in Nigeria. Nigeria can be united again, if only we are sincere in governance.
“As we move into the next dispensation, our candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has promised equal opportunity to Nigerians from all parts of the country.
“We are determined that our children will be encouraged to go to school. We will replicate what we have done in Delta in the country in terms of entrepreneurial development.
“We are committed to adopting a political solution to the problems in the South East. We need to reassure the people that there will be a better tomorrow in the country,’’ he said.
Okowa added that “here in Delta State, we have free maternal care for all pregnant women and children in the state. No woman should be allowed to die during childbirth.
“Women and youth will constitute 50 per cent of appointments to be made by the Atiku-Okowa presidency.
PRESS UNIT,
GOVT.HOUSE, ASABA
