The Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in the September 10 Edo Gubernatorial Elections, Godwin Obaseki, has said that women will be given a more prominent role in his administration if he is elected governor.

Obaseki made the disclosure when women leaders of the party, from both the national and state levels, paid him a courtesy visit in his campaign office in Benin on Tuesday.

According to him, “The time when our women were relegated to the back seat in governance is over. Edo State and, indeed, the entire country – is blessed with many great women of strong character and intelligence with a track record of excellence in both private enterprise and public service.”

“Our government will support and encourage the women to bring all their knowledge and experience into governance for the betterment of our people. We have women who have made a mark in different facets of our public life, and we will empower them as an integral part of our government to drive our prosperity agenda not only in the area of education and health but across all sectors, including the agri-business revolution that we are engendering.”

Commenting further on his women empowerment programmes, the APC flagbearer said: “We will launch development projects under the leadership of women, and improve access to low interest rate financing for Women-in-Business, including developing credit enhancement support schemes to improve credit ratings for our women empowerment programs. We also plan to develop over 20,000 affordable modern shops across the state by renovating existing markets and developing new markets under Public-Private Partnerships across the state.”

Earlier, the APC Woman Leader in the Federal Capital Territory, Mrs. Hailmary Aipoh, speaking on behalf of the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, said that they were in Edo State in solidarity with Godwin Obaseki, as well as to donate educational materials to children in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the state.

The Woman Leader commended Obaseki for his well thought-out plans and programmes for women, saying that this is not an era where women clap hands in politics but an era where women must actively participate in politics. She also assured that the APC women will mobilize and work hard to ensure his victory at the September 10 polls.

•Photo shows Edo APC governorship candidate Godwin Obaseki.

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