The
Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, has assured the that if voted into power in the February
16, 2019 presidential election, women would not be relegated to the
‘other room.’
The
former Vice President gave the assurance Friday in Abuja at the PDP
Women Conference with the theme “Call for Action”, where he challenged
Nigerian women to use their numerical strength and push for those
policies that would bring good governance as doing otherwise will bring
untold hardship to families.
He stated, “We have no fear of handing over the country to you. In my three decades of politics, the most consistent voters in the Nigeria political process are women. I have practically seen it, when we use to vote on queues not through ballot papers, if I stand as a candidate and I turn my back to look at the lines that are supporting me, the women lines are always three times (longer than) that of the men.”
“You
are not going to be in the other room I promise you. You have seen my
wives here, they are not in the other room, they are in the front.”
“Therefore,
it is the reason why we said we are going to give you more than 35 per
cent, because your numbers and your pattern of voting justified that
commitment.
“Therefore
between youth and women you have 70 per cent of the government. This is
to prepare you to take over governance, to take over this country and
make it work again.
“So,
this is your opportunity, your are not going to be put in the other
room, I promise you because you have seen my wives here, they are not in
the other room,” he added.
Also,
PDP Women Leader, Hajia Marian Umar Waziri, said that the forthcoming
election is another opportunity to rescue the country from suffering,
division, hunger and killings which women are often victims.
She urged the women who she said had voting strength of about 60 percent to come together and vote Atiku into power.
On
her part, Titi Atiku Abubakar, the first wife of Atiku, said that her
husband is a sellable candidate, stressing that Atiku is not a man that
will relegate women to the back seat.
According
to her, “The candidate of today is a sellable candidate. As you can
see, Atiku has not relegated us to the other room. He allows us to go
wherever we want, she allows us to do our businesses, so we are not
relegated to the other room.”
She
reiterated Atiku’s determination to kick out hunger, adding that as an
educationist, he would ensure that children go to school.
“Atiku
has about 26 children and all his children are involved in his
businesses except one who is working for the government and that one is
a technocrat. Go out there and propagate Atiku so that we can make
Nigeria a place to live,” she stated.