Former First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has called for stronger regional collaboration to expand opportunities for women in political leadership across West Africa.
Erelu Fayemi made the call while speaking at the Women’s Political Leadership Forum in Abuja, organised by ECOWAS, UNDP and the African Women Leaders’ Network, AWLN.
The forum brought together participants from several West African countries including Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Liberia, alongside their Nigerian counterparts to discuss challenges and opportunities for women in politics and governance.
Speaking in her capacity as a member of AWLN, Erelu Fayemi highlighted the network’s ongoing work to advance women’s leadership on the continent.
“In my capacity as an AWLN member, I spoke about the work AWLN continues to do in order to expand opportunities for women in leadership,” she said.
She also spotlighted the work of the Amandla Institute, noting that preparing young people for leadership remains central to its mission.
“Also, at the Amandla Institute, positioning young people for leadership is important to us through policy advocacy, mentoring, capacity building as well as knowledge production,” she added.
Participants at the forum agreed on the need for political parties, governments and development partners to create more deliberate pathways for women, including quotas, campaign financing, and protection from political violence.
They also stressed the importance of mentoring and capacity building for young women to take up leadership roles at local, national and regional levels.
Erelu Fayemi reaffirmed AWLN’s commitment to working with ECOWAS and UNDP to ensure that women’s voices are central to decision-making processes in the sub-region.