The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), said on Thursday that he was contesting to revive the country from its ailing state.
Buhari, who spoke in Lagos at the APC leadership town hall meeting with Nigerian women, also said that he was aware that achieving such a goal would be impossible without addressing the concerns of women.
‘‘I am on a mission to restore Nigeria’s fading glory and reposition our great nation on the path to greatness. I am however aware that this will not be possible without addressing the needs and concerns of those who constitute half of the population of this country – women. No nation can prosper without a commitment to the empowerment of women and girls,’’ he said.
The APC presidential candidate added that as a father of beautiful and promising young women, he knew what it meant to desire the very best for his daughters.
‘‘I do not expect any of my daughters to live unfulfilled, with their talents wasted and ignored, suffering discrimination at every turn, and rendered second-class citizens all because they happen to be female, ’’ he said.
He explained that an APC government under his leadership would, among other things, implement the 2005 National Gender Policy to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality and ensure anti-discrimination legislations and policies to afford women equality and equity especially in employment, education, housing and entrepreneurship.
He promised that his government would also ensure merit-based affirmative actions to create a level-playing field for women and include gender as a component of federal character.
