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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration is committed to reducing poverty, support women empowerment and education of girls.
He said his administration has delivered on his party’s (All Progressives Congress (APC) promises to include women and girls into national economic planning, policy development, public programming, and public financial management.
He spoke at the launch of three initiatives, the High-Level Advisory Council on Support for Women and Girls, Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment Project and National Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy Dialogue, targeted at reduction of poverty, and building of a sustainable economy.
The president, who called for upscaling of efforts for more inclusion of women in development policies and projects, said: “This is what we promised to all Nigerians, including our women and girls when our party, APC, was elected in 2015. I am proud to say our government has delivered over the past eight years.
“The well-being of women and girls remains a pivotal indicator of how well any nation is doing in driving her developmental plans. I am proud of the tremendous progress that has been made to emphasise the needs of Nigerian women and girls into national economic planning, policy development, public programming, and public financial management.
“While there has been progress, we are not unmindful of the gaps associated with harnessing the available resources of government, the innovation and efficiency of the private sector, and the technical expertise of our social and development sector partners to drive women’s and girls’ empowerment outcomes.’’
President Buhari said coordination had remained a key gap in the efforts to improve livelihoods and democratise opportunities for women and girls.
“It is expected that the High-Level Advisory Council on Nigeria’s Support for Women and Girls, which I am very proud to inaugurate today, therefore, comes as an answered prayer to bridge this identified gap.
“As this council takes off, I want to charge it with the mandate to drive all round collaboration and action towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 5: Gender Equality between now and 2030,” he said.
President Buhari commended the ministers of Women’s Affairs, Finance, Budget, and National Planning and Education for exemplifying collaboration and innovation in service delivery.
“I also want to thank our private and social sector partners, especially the council’s private sector co-chairs for being willing to join us on this journey to improve the lives of Nigerian women and girls.
“I want to charge the HLAC to initially focus on driving women’s economic empowerment, especially in the areas of economic access, sustainable livelihoods, and education; including second chance education for women and girls. I will also encourage deeper engagement and deliberate focus on sustaining the council’s inaugural priority initiatives, which include:
“The National Policy Dialogue on Women’s Economic Empowerment which is a robust programme aimed at leveraging on diverse approaches and perspectives across the federation to redefine our implementation of women’s economic empowerment programmes.
“I am proud that over the course of the dialogue, in engagements stretching from Kebbi to Lagos, the Federal Government has engaged the perspectives of over 100,000 Nigerians, including grassroots women, government actors, captains of industries, traditional rulers, religious leaders, technology-entrepreneurs to understand what works to drive women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria,” he said.
In her welcome address, Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, noted that the inauguration was evidence of President Buhari’s commitment to the empowerment of women and girls in Nigeria, adding that the president had, in December 2022, approved the formation of a presidential high level advisory council on women’s support to women in Nigeria.
Co-chair of HLAC, Dere Awosika, thanked the president for putting a stamp for moving women forward. Saying: “This is a call for equity, progress and no more poverty.”
She said education is a sustainable tool to promote gender equality and noted that the private sector clearly has a role to pay in promoting women empowerment.
World Bank Representative, Shubham Chaudhuri, assured the bank would do whatever it can to realise Nigeria’s ambition to left 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.
United Kingdom High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, who represented female ambassadors in Nigeria, said the best investment to be made is on women and children. She described the AGILE programme as brilliant.
She advised in coming president to put all three initiatives at the heart of his administration, stressing that Nigeria must not go down.
Gates Foundation Country Director, Jeremie Zoungrana, said the foundation has worked with Nigeria for over two decades and reiterate its commitments to accelerate investments in women and girls.
Emir of Keffi, Shehu Chindo Yamusa III, representing the Sultan of Sokoto, said the initiatives will improve the dignity of women and girls.
