Non-indigenes in Ebonyi endorse Atiku

Non-indigenous women in Ebonyi State have endorsed presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar.

The women said the All Progressives Congress (APC) government had failed to live up to the minimum expectations of Nigerians in infrastructure, security and job creation.

The women spoke yesterday at the Friends of Atiku Campaign Office in Abakaliki, when they visited the state coordinator, Linus Abaa Okorie.

Leader of Benue women in Ebonyi State Mrs. Ujoh Rose condemned the “disheartening” treatment” meted out to the women under the APC government, saying the time had come to end the ugly development.

She noted that women were not being carried along in the scheme of things due to the belief of the leaders that women should belong to the “other room”.

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

“Since I retired from service, no benefits, no entitlements, nothing at all. Each time I call the man in charge, he will 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 comes on board on May 29.

“As leaders of women groups from various tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria, we shall galvanise our fellow women to ensure Atiku’s victory on February 16.”

Mrs. Hajia Adiza Abubakar, leader of Hausa Women from Adamawa State, said chilling reports of killings and insecurity across the country demand urgent attention, stressing that Atiku Abubakar is the only presidential candidate with the experience and political will to tackle the challenges.

She said: “All these killings, hunger and unemployment everywhere in Nigeria should be addressed, and I know that my brother Atiku will stop it when he becomes President. All our women have decided to vote for him for the betterment of Nigeria.”

Okorie praised the women for the visit, and assured them that Nigeria would be great and prosperous under Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

He directed the women’s coordinator of the Friends of Atiku, Mrs. Eze Mercy, to work with the women to ensure Atiku’s victory in next month’s polls.