All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has promised that he will offer women and youths in Nigeria a new deal if elected into office.
In a statement from the Directorate of Media and Publicity of the campaign organisation, signed by Mallam Garba Shehu, the party said “Drawing extensively from the information contained in the APC’s manifesto, a federal government under the leadership of Buhari promises to offer women and youths in Nigeria a new deal.
“We are firmly committed to the value that women are the backbone of the Nigerian society, especially in our rural communities. Therefore, issues that matter to the average Nigerian woman cut across the spectrum of policy areas, such as agriculture – where they predominate as farmers and farm labour – to health and education, where their concern for their children are paramount.
“Our policy position for woman takes into cognisance the fact that in spite of several rights outlined in the 1999 Constitution, many women do not enjoy the same freedom as men, particularly in the fields of education, economic empowerment and political participation.
“No society can progress where half of its population suffers systemic discrimination. An APC government will seek to end all forms of gender discrimination in both public and private sectors, in education, employment and housing and also protect equal property and inheritance rights.”
The statement added that the core policy objectives of the APC for women and youths to include, “improving anti-discriminatory legislation and instituting merit-based affirmative action in employment; injecting gender as a component of federal character and appointing a Minister for Women and Gender in the Office of the President; enforcing legal protection for the fundamental rights of the girl-child in all areas of religious, social and economic life.”