The Peoples Democratic Party in Adamawa State has announced a strategy to ensure a gender mix between chairmen and vice chairmen candidates for the upcoming local government council polls.
This decision aligns with the Adamawa Independent Electoral Commission’s election schedule set for July 13.
In an interview held in Yola, Adamawa PDP chairman, Barr Tahir Shehu, outlined the party’s approach. He explained that for every local government area a male chairmanship candidate from the party will nominate a female running mate, while a female candidate for chairperson will choose a male running mate. Shehu emphasized, “By the grace of God, all LGAs that will be won by our party will have mixed gender in the positions of chairman and vice chairman.”
The push for this gender-balanced approach originated from Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, who urged the party to pair male and female members for the leadership positions across all 21 local government areas. This directive aligns with the PDP’s broader commitment to gender sensitivity and inclusion. As Shehu highlighted, “PDP is a gender-sensitive party. To start with, our deputy governor is a woman. We recognize that women generally are honest and committed to what they do.”
Shehu further noted the significant role of women in elections, pointing out that they often outnumber men in voter turnout. He stressed the importance of acknowledging women’s contributions and capabilities, stating, “We have every reason to encourage women for positions of leadership, and we have women of capacity all around us.” He reiterated the party’s commitment to gender pairing, ensuring that male chairmanship candidates nominate female vice chairmen and vice versa. “We will see to it that where a man is going for chairman, he nominates a woman to go with him, and where a woman competes for the position of chairperson, she nominates a male running mate,” he concluded.
