Nigerian prostitutes have pledged to offer free sex if the opposition party led by General Muhammadu Buhari wins the forthcoming presidential elections scheduled for February 14.
In what will be the keenest presidential contest since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, General Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will go head-to-head with incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Throwing its weight behind General Buhari, the National Association of Nigerian Prostitutes (NANP) expressed disappointment in the way the President Jonathan’s government treat commercial sex in the country. NANP’s General Secretary, Jessica Elvis, described President Jonathan’s government as the worst in the history of Nigeria, saying its members recorded the lowest income during his tenure.
She added that several approaches to the presidency to legalize prostitution were also turned down.
According to Ms Elvis, NANP has subsequently decided to back the APC and will declare a-three day free sex across the country if President Jonathan loses to General Buhari of APC.
Last year, the Nigerian chapters of African Sex Workers Alliance and the Women of Power Initiative led the protests with demonstrators wearing T-shirts, looking to better the plight of sex workers.
At the time, a spokeswoman for the groups said: “We are tired of dying in silence and we want to be able to practice our profession with pride like every other person. We want an end to name-calling and stigmatisation as we are sex workers and not ashawo.
“Sex work is normal work and there are sex workers everywhere under one form of disguise or the other. We sent a proposal to the government in March 2, 2012, almost a year after President Jonathan was fully elected as president of Nigeria on the need to legalizex prostitution but the presidency declared war on us by arresting some members on the street of Abuja.”
According to the sex workers, most of their members are students who are using the job to pursue their education.
They added that not everyone can work in Aso Rock, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or Shell.
Calling on all their members and every Nigerian to vote out President Jonathan, Ms Elvis said that security had also been a big issue with sex workers.
She pointed out that they have lost over 400 members in northern Nigeria to the Boko Haram insurgency.
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(Selorm) | 
(Nana Kwesi)