The National Women Commission (NWC) promised to mobilize Nigerian women to boycott the 2015 elections in the country unless the authorities bring back the Chibok girls by that time.
Chibok girls showed in the video released by Abubakar Shekau
The group, which is the women’s wing of the Nigeria Labour Congress, made the categorical claim through its chairperson Lucy Offiong in Abuja on November 12, Leadership reports.
According to the NWC, the Federal Government has not done enough to rescue more than 200 school girls, abducted on April 14 in Borno State.
Offiong lamented over the fact that while the children were still missing, the authorities were mostly focused on preparation for the elections rather than rescuing the girls.
The group chairman thus urged all women, and all mothers in particular, to use their voting rights as the means of posing ultimatum to the government.
“The abducted school girls are potential workers and members of this commission. We are very concerned about it. We are going to come up with a communiqué with all the women that are gathered here for the conference. We are going to draw from their personal experiences, especially those from the troubled north east zone.
“I regret to say that it has been so politicised and government has not done what we expect as women. These girls would have been seriously exposed to all forms of inhuman treatments. They must have been so violated.”
As the authorities keep claiming that the girls are alive, after almost 7 months in captivity, they should do everything possible to enable their release.
“I want to say that if Nigerian women can rise just as we are going to rise from this our conference and push that until those girls are brought back, there should be no election in this country.”
“The abducted school girls are potential workers and members of this commission. We are very concerned about it. We are going to come up with a communiqué with all the women that are gathered here for the conference. We are going to draw from their personal experiences, especially those from the troubled north east zone.
“I regret to say that it has been so politicised and government has not done what we expect as women. These girls would have been seriously exposed to all forms of inhuman treatments. They must have been so violated.”
As the authorities keep claiming that the girls are alive, after almost 7 months in captivity, they should do everything possible to enable their release.
“I want to say that if Nigerian women can rise just as we are going to rise from this our conference and push that until those girls are brought back, there should be no election in this country.”
Offiong expressed shock that in the condition when Boko Haram are seizing Nigeria’s towns, the politicians care only about the elections.
“I think we are in a war situation. I think election should be put on hold until the country is returned to normalcy.”
It would be recalled that another wave of rage over the situation with the Chibok girls occurred after the so-called ceasefire agreement allegedly concluded by the Federal Government and Boko Haram on October 17, under which the students should have been removed.
However it never happened and the attacks continued. Moreover, in the two post-agreement videos the sect leader Abubakar Shekau (or his impersonator) mocked the authorities’ claims saying that no ceasefire was possible and that the children had all been married off.
source: news agencies