Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday called for the abolition of the indigenship clause.

According to the governor, such a move will allow people, particularly women, to contest elections wherever they reside instead of being forced to go back to their states of origin.

The governor said this in Lagos at the 2013 Annual Lecture of non-profit organisation Women in Management and Business, which had the theme, ‘Leadership: Women Making a Difference’.

Oshiomhole said, “The issue of whether a woman should claim her husband’s state of origin or your own state of origin is part of our national problems. To start with, the real legal issue is why should our right to contest for any office be determined by our state of origin?

“It would have been easier for me to win election in Kaduna State where I had lived all my life, where I had mobilised all sorts of people and protests. But for political reasons I was told I had to go to my state of origin. I had no choice about where I was born, but I chose where to live.

“We must support, particularly now that they are talking of constitutional amendment, that this concept of indigeneship, we should have it completely abolished in our public discuss.”

The governor, who urged women to participate more actively in politics, explained that if residence rather than indigeneship was what determined where a person could contest election, then the issue of where a woman or her husband is from, would not matter.

According to Oshiomhole, while the lots of women has improved over the years, there is still the need for women to occupy more leadership roles in the society in order to ensure equality between men and women.

He said, “Between 2010 and mid-2012, we had about 20 women who were serving as presidents or as Prime Ministers in different countries. About 15 women are known to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

He added, “It is clear that some progress has been made in terms of girl child education, but increases in women education relative to men has not resulted in gender equality.”

He explained that the fact that no political party in the country had a woman as national chairman showed that there was still a long way to go.