Statement by the National Coalition on Affirmative Action (NCAA) on the Gender and Equal Opportunities Law

Abstract

The National Coalition on Affirmative Action (NCAA) is an umbrella organization of over 150 NGOs working towards the entrenchment of Affirmative action policies in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or in a new legislation. The coalition was formed after an international conference organised by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) and the Coalition of Eastern NGOs (CENGOS) at the National Assembly in 2003 which was attended by experts from USA, Brazil, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa – countries where affirmative action has been in action successfully and members of the Senators and House of Representatives and representatives of NGOs. One of the resolutions at the conference was to form a coalition of like-minded NGOs to pursue the issue of affirmative action in Nigeria as a strategy for increasing participation of women in politics.