The Secretary-General of the Community for Democracies, Mrs Maria Leisner, has pledged the community’s support to Nigeria’s nascent democracy.
Mrs Leisner made the commitment at a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, in Abuja on Friday.
She said the activities of the Boko Haram sect was having a negative effect on Nigeria’s democracy and emphasised the need for the government to check the insecurity.
“Nigeria’s democracy is under attack, as a result of the activities of the terrorist group, the Boko Haram. The number of attacks against democracy have increased in the past eight to 10 years. It is a relief to visit such an important member of the community democracies,” she said.
Mrs Leisner expressed confidence that Nigeria would overcome terrorism obstacles soon.
The need for more women to be involved in politics was also discussed at the meeting and the Minister assured Mrs Leisner of the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that more women participate in governance.
“Following the achievements of women in appointive positions, we will be able to elect women into positions where we will need their votes – the parliament, executives and others. With the support of the Community of Democracies we have additional expose, education and sensitisation, not just for Nigeria but for different countries of the world,” Onwuliri said.
The Nigerian government had said it would continue to make efforts to ensure that the “35% Affirmative Action For Women In Nigeria” was achieved.