Worried by the groanings of Nigerians as a result of the increasing cost of products and services, the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has called on the Federal Government to urgently set up a mechanism to check the rate of inflation and the high cost of living in the country.
This was contained in a communiqué issued by the association at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Asaba Delta State recently.
The NEC took a critical look at the increasing cost of products and services in Nigeria and expressed displeasure at what Nigerians go through on a daily basis calling on the Federal Government to urgently put a stop to their lamentations.
The meeting, which was presided over by the National President of NAWOJ, Ladi Bala, extensively discussed issues concerning the Association and the state of the nation and also urged the Federal Government to reconcile its differences with the Academic Staff University so that Nigeria students could return to school.
NAWOJ also called on the Federal Government to ensure that the ASUU strike is called off in the shortest possible time, to hasten the resumption of academic activities in public tertiary institutions nationwide.
The NEC equally urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgent concern, address the issue of insecurity that has eaten deep into the fabric of the country, to find a lasting solution to it.
As the nation prepares for the next general elections, the association has enjoined all political parties and their candidates to promote inclusiveness and unity in Nigeria, maintaining that the National Gender policy on 35 percent Affirmative Action should be implemented.
Commending political parties that picked women as running mates in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, it stressed the need for women to get their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and ensure they exercise their franchise during the 2023 general elections, while discouraging underaged voting.
It decried the alarming rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria, which according to UNICEF statistics is well over 10 million children as it needs urgent attention and urged Government at all levels to strengthen the Primary Health Care system to check the rate of mother and infant mortality.
NAWOJ further advised State Governments that are yet to domesticate the VAPP law to do the needful so as to build and strengthen Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Reference Centres that can handle SGBV-related cases and cater for the survivors.
