Ebonyi House of Assembly Assures of Passing DEI Bill

The Speaker, Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Mr Moses Odunwa, says that the House has passed over 30 bills within two years in the current seventh assembly.

Odunwa disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Enugu on Saturday during a Validation Meeting with Members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly towards the Passage of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Bill.

The meeting, which serves as a workshop, was organised by the Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) with Funding Support from UN Women through the Government of Canada.

The speaker noted that the House for the past two years had been focused, ensuring people-oriented bills were given accelerated passage and working ahead of other state houses of assemblies on bills of state and national importance.

According to him, for the DEI Bill, the house is favourably disposed to pass it as a Bill and forward the same to His Excellency, Dr Francis Nwifuru, for assent into a law.

The Speaker said, “The DEI Bill has passed the first reading already; while the delay it is having is this validation meeting where all members will make their inputs.

“Ebonyi State has been making history and we have been mostly the first to pass vital people-oriented bills such as the prisons reform bill, which got the assembly a national award; while other assemblies are still studying it.

“For the DEI Bill, we are willing to pass it. The only thing is that there should be some modification so that it will never turn draconian, but truly inclusive for the betterment of all, at any time.

“Already, the state government has started doing something ground in ensuring inclusivity and we believe that before this year runs out, we will pass the DEI Bill after all due process and considerations.”

Speaking, the Founder and Executive Director of WACOL, Prof. Joy Ezeilo (SAN), said that the Bill was meant to support all genders and give an equitable voice to various diverse segments of the society without leaving anyone behind.

Ezeilo, who is Professor of International Law at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, noted that it was all about inclusivity and streamlining diverse segments of the state to create a sense of belonging for everyone.

“The workshop will look at the DEI draft bill holistically and see that interest of diverse groups count before it is translated into a law, which a new commission will see to its implementation,” she said.

In a goodwill message, the Wife of the Governor of Ebonyi, Mrs Uzoamaka Nwifuru, said that the Bill, when passed into law, would remove cultural barriers limiting some genders for achieving their full economic and political potential.

Nwifuru assured the house of her full support to the Bill “just as I have fully supported the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the state and protected the rights of the vulnerable anytime called upon”.

She thanked WACOL and NILDS as well as Ebonyi Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the House of Assembly for the push given to the bill to be passed into law for the betterment of all.