By Aluta News
A coalition of civil society organisations, have called on political parties to prioritise inclusive policies for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs)women and youths ahead of the 2023 General Elections.
The coalition in a statement in Abuja said ,Nigerian women, youth, and persons with disabilities coalition developed Governance Agenda for an Inclusive Nigeria (GAIN).
According to the statement,the GAIN initiative is promoted by a coalition of civil society organizations namely Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), YouthHubAfrica (YHA),and Inclusive Friends Association (IFA).
Others include :Association of Nigerian Women Business Network (ANWBN) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
The group said the call was necessitated by the marginalization women, youths and PWDs faced in political participation.
“The A separate national women, youth, and PWDs agenda was developed from this process and consolidated into a document called the Governance Agenda for an Inclusive Nigeria (GAIN) to be presented nationally and adopted by the leading political parties and actors towards Nigeria’s general election in 2023.
“ Nigerian Women, Youths, and People with Disabilities (PWDs) as a coalition are joining forces under the Governance Agenda for an Inclusive Nigeria, GAIN to foster inclusive representation and socio-economic standards in the political process by ensuring elected officials fulfill election commitments after the 2023 general elections.
“ The organizations WIPF, YHA, IFA, and ANWBN on behalf of women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) respectively have been leading advocacy engagements to key national and state-level stakeholders toward inclusive governance and democracy in Nigeria.’’
The statement said that the GAIN document would be publicly presented to leading national and state-level candidates in the 2023 election and the Nigerian public to request that candidates adopt priorities of Nigerian women, youth, and PWDs as contained in GAIN.
It said that the public presentation would formally flag off a nationwide advocacy for presidential, National Assembly and governorship candidates to endorse, adopt and sign on to GAIN commitment slips.
“The adoption of the GAIN document by candidates in the 2023 elections will shape the voting pattern of millions of women, youth, and PWDs.
“These groups of Nigerians are already being mobilised across the country to hold candidates accountable on the GAIN when elected into office. Nigeria’s women, youth, and PWDs have great expectations that candidates interested in delivering inclusive governance will commit to the GAIN recommendations.’’