From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The First Lady of Kebbi State, Hajiya Zainab Nasir Idris, has vowed to tackle frequent divorces across the state by proposing a Marriage Reconciliation Committee Bill to the State House of Assembly to reduce the number of broken marriages in the state.
Idris, who stated this while addressing a press conference to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) in Birnin Kebbi, disclosed that the Chief Judge of the state would be involved in the matter.
“We are going to propose a bill before the House of Assembly to put an end to these divorces and broken marriages in the state,” she said.
It could be recalled that the theme of 2025 IWD is “Accelerate Action for Gender Equality Through Women Economic Empowerment.”
On affirmative action, the governor’s wife noted with satisfaction that Kebbi was on course to achieving the 35 per cent target.
She recalled that before the present administration came on board, the state had only three female Permanent Secretaries, but today they have six, adding that the number of councillors has increased from 17 to 28, with two female commissioners from none.
According to her, “My husband is very keen on any issue concerning women; therefore, women are very dear to him, hence his decision to direct that a woman must be elected as councillor from each Local Government of the state.
“I may use this medium to urge every woman to embrace self-development and endeavour to seek knowledge and explore economic opportunities available to you.”
While appreciating the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, for her pet project, “Every Home a Garden,” the governor’s wife encouraged women to take advantage of it to cultivate different crops within their matrimonial homes using modern farming techniques.
In her speech, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, Dr Suwaiba Salihu, urged women to carry forward a spirit of equity, change, and inclusiveness.
The Permanent Secretary advocated for an increase in the number of women commissioners in the state from two to ten, lamenting that some women were not conscious of their rights.
On his part, the Secretary, Technical Working Group (TWG) on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kebbi, Alhaji Nasir Idris, lauded the governor’s wife for supporting the NGO to achieve its set goals and objectives.
He explained that, in view of the holistic support being enjoyed, the rate of GBV had drastically reduced across the state, recalling that recently, the governor’s wife had interacted with GBV survivors, which was the first of its kind in the history of Kebbi.
The secretary said the Kebbi First Lady did not only interact with the victims but also supported 100 of them with N50,000 each to start businesses.
He noted that the NGO had secured the conviction of 18 people to life imprisonment as against the initial 50 last year, signifying a decrease in the rate of crime.
Alhaji AbdurRasheed Bala, Coordinator, Nasara Women Development Foundation, a pet project of the governor’s wife, said the foundation had touched the lives of over 10,000 women.