Women leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have begun a nationwide mobilisation drive aimed at increasing women’s participation in the party and strengthening its grassroots structures ahead of future elections.
The National Speaker of the SDP Women Parliament, Ambassador Hajiya Sa’adatu Abdullahi, made this known during a strategic meeting with state women leaders in Abuja.
Abdullahi said women could no longer remain on the sidelines of political activities, urging them to build strong structures across states, wards and communities.
She said electoral success would not come through wishful thinking but through organisation, sacrifice, strategy and sustained grassroots mobilisation.
The SDP Women Parliament, she said, would focus on expanding its network and encouraging more women to take active roles in the party.
“This meeting gives us an opportunity to assess where we are, identify our weaknesses, strengthen our structures and develop practical strategies for taking the SDP message to every ward, community and household,” she said.
Abdullahi urged state women leaders to see themselves as key pillars of the SDP and work with discipline, unity and commitment.
She also appealed to them to put aside personal differences, saying unity among women would give them greater influence within the party.
“Our strength is in our unity, our power is in our organisation, and our weapon is our determination. We must organise, mobilise and deliver results,” she said.
The SDP National Chairman, Professor Sadiq Gombe, represented at the meeting by the South-South Deputy National Chairman, Senator Ugochukwu Uba, assured women that the party would give them a greater role in its affairs.
Gombe said the SDP was undergoing reforms and reorganisation to strengthen its structures and prepare for future political activities.
He said the party was committed to giving women greater opportunities in political appointments, party activities and elections.
According to him, the party’s forthcoming manifesto would contain policies aimed at promoting wider participation and inclusion of women.
The SDP chairman described the party as an ideological platform committed to the welfare of Nigerians and the principles contained in Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution.
He urged the women leaders to take the mobilisation campaign to the grassroots and prepare women across the country for active participation in future campaigns and party activities.
Gombe also commended the National Woman Leader and other women leaders for their efforts and sacrifices towards strengthening the party.