State-wide Launch of the Women In Governance Network (WIGN)

The main objective of this activity was to pull together all the WIGN members from the different senatorial zones of Rivers and Bayelsa States and officially launch the network. The network was launched at the State capitals, Port Harcourt and Yenagoa respectively with invitations to women in both elective and appointive positions, the Ministry of Women Affairs, political actors who are men, religious leaders, the media and other stakeholders. In Rivers State, the Vice Chairmen of the Local Government Councils are women. They were invited and they all attended the launch. Some of the keynote speakers who are women leaders from different political parties emphasized that irrespective of educational background, material wealth, looks and marital status, women can play active roles in politics and decision making. Again, a female Pastor spoke on the need for women to ignore myths that support their relegation to the background. The speech was a strong confirmation for the women that there are no biblical requirements for being politically inactive. During this explanation, the applause from the women came really strong. It was important they got this from a clergy as the women are very religious. As part of the agenda for the launch, a screening of pictures and short videos from the town hall meetings from the three senatorial zones were shown using a projector. This displayed the hard work the women had put in for the formation of the network. It was an emotional moment for many of the women and hopefully will strengthen their commitment to the future growth of the network. It also was an avenue to let the women realize that the size of the network is large and sufficient enough to make positive impacts. The Launch was also an opportunity for the women to network among themselves. Women could be seen exchanging contact details and introducing their selves to one another at the State level. This marked the beginning of unity and cohesion which are key objectives of the network. Highpoint of the launch a pledge of the WIGN members in an oath of membership administered by the Vice Chairperson of Ogu-Bolu LGA. In the pledge, the WIGN members promise to abide by the objectives of the WIGN and always strive to support one another. The women who hold political offices on their pledge, promise to mentor the WIGN members to ensure that the impact of the movement is felt in near future and that 2032 general elections will see at least 25 percent of WIGN members contesting for elections.