Former Minister of Education during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and foremost activist, Oby Ezekwesili has lambasted the Nigerian Senate for rejecting the Gender Equality Bill.

The bill sought to empower women across the country and ensure that they are accorded equal opportunities in the society but the Senate threw it out on the premise that it largely contradicts the Sharia law which is a part of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.

Through her Twitter page, the former minister expressed her disappointment in the Senate for the rejection of the bill as she addressed the issue of gender parity also.

Why am I not surprised that @NGRSenate could not offer enough votes to move the #GenderEqualityBill past 2nd reading & unto PUBLIC DEBATE?

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

There're bound to be sections in the #GenderEqualityBill that would generate heated Public Debate for consensus but @ least ALLOW IT HAPPEN.

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Anyone who has followed the antecedents of @NGRSenate on Women &Girls issue would know that we have a problem on our hands. #TruthBeTold

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

There are many extremely important provisions in that #GenderEqualityBill that proponents, all women & men of goodwill should fight on for.

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Those that know Sen. Emmanuel of the Bible fame, please tell him to read how God ruled equality 4 the Zelophahad daughters in Numbers27v1-11

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

All you my young female and male friends have your political career cut out for you. Can many of you not think of running for NASS in 2019?

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Let's have Sen. Emmanuel of the Bible fame reread Genesis1v26-28. God gave a Dominion mandate to HUMANITY: "male & female, created He them".

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Tell Sen. Emmanuel of Bible fame that if God thought less of Eve, He would have said in Genesis 2v21-22, "You'll get HALF the brain of Adam"

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Tell Sen. Emmanuel of Bible fame that if God thought less of Eve, He would have said in Genesis 2v21-22, "You'll get HALF the brain of Adam"

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

You see, a little knowledge is dangerous. Don't confuse God's ordering of family relationship with Gender Inequality. | @slimlinn:

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

You are a man with a fragile ego covering up by distorting the Bible. You do not preach the Gospel my dear. I assure. | @slimlinn:

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

I LIVE by the Bible in my home in line with ORDERING of God for FAMILY. That's not same as being UNEQUAL to YOU. Get knowledge. | @slimlinn:

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Laws of the kind envisaged by the #GenderEqualityBill are often thorny in most societies cos of all manner of barriers.IT TAKES A COALITION!

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

As for that famous cradle snatching Senator for whom a child is a bride, 1 thing is certain, Women & Girls shall someday overcome his antics

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

And further, a lesson for Nigerian youths

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors~~Plato

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

The most annoying words in the 1999 Constitution is "We the People". That Constitution is so NOT by the peep, of the peep nor for the peep.

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

There are quite a number of noxious provisions in the 1999 Constitution that will not stand up to participatory Democratic scrutiny today.

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good (wo)men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

I may not have money to back you, my young friends of character, competence &capacity but I'll VOLUNTEER for your NASS campaign, 2019. #DoIt

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Let's all just know that except we improved the quality of our #NASS representation, ours will be a struggling democracy for a looong time.

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016

Don't know how many of you recall our #GirlChildNotBride campaign. You may not know that the 1999 Constitution made amendment impossible. 🙁

— Oby Ezekwesili (@obyezeks) March 15, 2016