Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting for Women in Politics (WIMPOL) on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at Harbour Point, 4 Wilmot Point Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event tagged WIMBIZ WIMPOL Town Hall Meeting is themed RUN! VOTE! GET INVOLVED!

The Town Hall Meeting is an avenue for women from diverse backgrounds and with different ideologies, to interact with a cross-section of women vying for political office. WIMBIZ being a catalyst that elevates the status and influence of women and their contribution to nation building is focused on driving female involvement in politics and public service as a means of driving positive growth and national development.

Having identified the low representation of women in politics, the dearth of suitably qualified persons in politics and the effect of this gap on national development, the Town Hall Meeting is designed to create a platform for women engagement with female politicians of diverse pedigree.

The Town Hall Meeting will also aid the following objectives: ▪ Creating awareness about politics and how women can get involved:

▪ Fast tracking female involvement in politics

▪ Fast tracking the success rate of female politicians through dedicated mentoring and sponsorship initiatives.

▪ Increase female participation in politics thereby strengthening the quality of policies that lead to strong national development.

Given the recent estimated statistics listed below from INEC on women intending to run for office in the 2019 election across various levels.

▪ 6 – President

▪ 22 – Vice President

▪ 232 – Senate

▪ 532 – House of Representatives

▪ 80 – Governors

▪ 275 – Deputy Governors

▪ 1872 – State House of Assembly

▪ 13 – FCT Chairman

▪ 29 – FCT Vice Chairman

▪ 29 – FCT Councillors

WIMBIZ recognizes that the remarkable increase in women running compared to previous years and however continues to be an advocate for greater representation of women in leadership both in the private and public sector. The Town Hall Meeting event will comprise of a panel of political candidates from diverse backgrounds and political aspirations.

Each panelist will be given an allocated time to speak about why she is running, where she finds gaps and what she would achieve if elected.

WIMBIZ is of the firm belief that this will serve as an opportunity for the general public to interact with the women running for office, providing the candidates the chance to express their vision for national growth and development.