A female pressure group within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Concerned Women of PDP, has described as “another gender persecution” disagreement between members of the House of Representatives and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the amendment of the 2013 Appropriation Act.

The group in a statement signed by its coordinator, Hajia Amina Aliyu Nassarawa, and made available by its spokesperson, Uchem Obi, Sunday in Abuja, expressed disappointment at the House reaction to Okonjo-Iweala’s economic counsel.

It explained that rather than take seriously the minister’s counsel, members of the lower parliament had gone ahead to describe it as an attempt to blackmail and incite Nigerians against them, adding that such reaction was unnecessary and an attempt to intimidate and diminish Okonjo-Iweala’s dignity because of her gender.

“We received with dismay the widely reported invitation by the House of Representatives to Okonjo-Iweala over her warning that the government would not be able to pay salaries by September if the legislature failed to resolve the lingering impasse over the 2013 budget amendment bill.

“We are shocked that the House saw the minister’s warning as blackmail of the legislature and incitement of Nigerian workers against it rather than a timely warning by a seasoned professional, who has been given the onerous job of coordinating the nation’s economy and managing its finances,” it said.

It further noted that: “The statement credited to Hon. Samson Osagie, that: “The minister of finance had consistently insulted the sensibilities of the institution of the National Assembly through her umbrage and blackmail of this institution,” does sound high-handed and reeks of chauvinistic antagonism.

“The minister of finance passed through the House of Representatives’ screening exercise and got her appointment because the House found her worthy and fit for the job. Then why should the house launch verbal attacks on the minister if at all, she made the statement credited to her, in the course of doing her job.”

Describing its disappointment, the group said: “We wouldn’t have been incensed if the House had invited the minister to find out if she actually made the statement and if she did, to find out what indices prompted her warning. After all, she was appointed to manage the economy and it became her primary duty to alert the nation of any impeding economic disaster.

“We take great exceptions to this invitation which we consider disrespectful to the office of the minister of finance and demeaning of her integrity as an internationally acclaimed economist and financial manager. This slander of dubbing her a blackmailer and an alarmist does appear to be a chauvinistic attempt to muzzle, intimidate and ridicule her because of her gender.”

While buttressing its stance on another gender persecution, the group added that: “The minister has come out to say that she did not make the statement credited to her. If the House insists on this invitation, we shall have no option than to consider it an outright offensive against the person and status of the minister because of her gender.

“No one should feel intimidated by the success of women because success and pedigree is not the exclusive reserve of men.

“We call on the leadership of the House to treat this matter with utmost caution and relate with Okonjo-Iweala with mutual respect and decorum or else, we shall be forced to call out concerned PDP women from the villages, hamlets and cities in a massive protest during which we shall camp and sleep on the grounds of the National Assembly until this persecution ceases and women in power are begun to be recognised, respected and treated with deserved dignity and honour by their male counterparts.”
Source: http://infonigeria24.com/pdp-womens-group-faults-house-invitation-to-okonjo-iweala/