Why I rescinded my resignation as Minister of Women Affairs –Tallen
Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs Pauline Tallen has explained why she has rescinded her ambition to become senator in 2023.
Tallen disclosed this on Monday, during a virtual meeting monitored by our correspondent, organised by Pathfinder International and She Forum Africa with the theme “partnership for goals: Advancing the gender agenda for sustainable development.”
Our correspondent reports that its a collaborative initiative to increase girls agency.
Recall that the Minister was expected to resign following the recently signed electoral Act which expects public officers to resign their current appointment in line with its provision.
According to her, “I have a sitting female senator. All I wanted was for her to continue. We have only eight women out of 109, my own senator from my senatorial zone is a woman, she is doing very well, I’m fully ready to support her.”
While lamenting what she termed as political violence against women, from an existing gender-based violence revealed that her nomination form was picked for her by a group of women, adding that she had no hand in it procurement.
“But while we were addressing issue of gender-based violence the issue of political violence against women is top on our agenda now. My senator has been harassed intimated that why on the 28th of April she withdrew and cried out that she wants to save her life and that of her children. Women in my senatorial zone rose up, there was nothing we didn’t do to appeal with her that led to women in my senatorial zone to contribute money to buy form for me. I didn’t use one dime to pick form,” the Minister said.
Commenting further Tallen bemoaned how more than half of the current female senators may not return termed it as injustice against women, adding that it was wrong to fold her hands over such oppression.
Tallen added, “That was why I accepted the form, but there were guidelines that you have to resign 30 days before and that caught up with me. Not just my senator that her seat is threatened to be pushed out about four out of the eight are not likely to come back.
“My own own senator, the senator from Rivers State has been denied ticket, the only senator from North-East, who is the best candidate for the governor in Adamawa is not coming back to the Senate, our sister Remi Tinubu her husband is going for presidential so she cannot contest. Looking at the number the remaining four how are we sure they will return. Our governors are pushing them out because the Senate is becoming retirement ground, it is time for action.”
