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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, New York
Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has declared that President Bola Tinubu “has done everything for us to get to where we are today,” urging Nigerian women to unite, invest in one another and seize the political momentum behind gender equality as the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) opened at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Speaking at a welcome dinner and breaking of fast for the Nigerian delegation and friends of Nigeria on the margins of CSW70 held at the Nigerian House Monday night, the minister said the current administration had provided unprecedented political backing for women’s empowerment and social impact programmes.
“Mr President has done everything for us to get to where we are today, and we can see a lot of political prioritization for the work that we do,” Sulaiman-Ibrahim, told guests. “It means that we are getting something right and we have done something right.”
She insisted that the real test now lies with women themselves. “From the leadership of our beloved President Bola Tinubu down to the very least level of leadership, we see men rooting for us, so how we navigate is entirely up to us,” she said. “All we have to do is to ensure that we work smarter. We speak with one voice. Our unity will define the kind of successes that we record going forward. We must speak with one voice going forward.”
Calling time on complacency in the women’s movement, she declared: “In Nigeria, we must rejuvenate the women’s movement because the one that does exist will not take us far. We must see a rise of she for she’s. We must look out for each other as women. More than ever, the she for she factor is what will take us far.”
She linked this solidarity directly to economics, arguing that women are central to Nigeria’s target of building a one trillion-dollar economy. “Like the Ambassador (Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, Syndoph Endoni) said it, that women will play a key factor in the emergence of a one trillion-dollar economy,” she noted. “We’re the ones that have the patience to run a business. Most men might be in a hurry to make money… but women, despite our responsibilities, we have the patience. It’s one naira into two, two into four, and we see it every day from the villages to the cities.”
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, used the New York gathering to push Nigeria’s flagship gender and social protection blueprint, the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions – 774, which the government has recently been marketing as one of the largest clustered investments in women’s empowerment and family-focused programmes in Africa.
“I would like to speak a bit about Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention 774. That’s our national agenda when it comes to women’s economic empowerment, when it comes to child development, when it comes to family cohesion and protection of the vulnerable,” she explained. “It’s a nine thematic pillar solution. It’s going to be the biggest investment by any government in Africa towards social impact. So I think we should all align to that particular intervention.”
She stressed that implementation would require collective ownership: “I’m not the only one that will implement it. It will take our collective effort to implement that particular agenda. It was well thought out, put together by all stakeholders, and I think we should champion it collectively.”
The minister argued that Nigeria is still scratching the surface of women’s potential. “One of the key things that we must prioritize is tapping into the potential of our women, which we have not done even to the tune of 10%,” she said. “A woman can do more once you look after the nitty-gritty of the things that they need to function. But why they’re not doing more is because we’re not being very intentional about growth.”
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, framed investment in women and children as not only a justice issue—mirroring CSW70’s priority focus on rights, justice and action for all women and girls—but also a survival strategy for Nigeria’s economy.
“We must push for additional investment into the gender space. It is dying for investment,” she said. “We must invest in our women, we must invest in our children, our 50% population. We must invest in the architecture of protection, infrastructure, policy and the right kind of advancement response for our women and for vulnerable people, because they have a lot to offer Nigeria.”
She added that as the Nigerian team arrives for CSW70, delegates must embody the country’s aspirations on the global stage. “As we arrive in New York for CSW70, I trust us all to be good ambassadors of Nigeria,” she told the gathering. “I look forward to presenting our country’s statement tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at the first session and to spending time with all of you while here in New York.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Kafilat Ogbara, reinforced the minister’s message by highlighting a legislative push to dismantle Nigeria’s chronic underrepresentation of women in politics.
“On issues of women, the 10th Assembly in the Nigerian House of Representatives, under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, is taking the underrepresentation of women in Nigeria very seriously,” she said. “As we all know, Nigeria currently has a representation of less than 4% in our parliaments. So we are working towards ensuring that we increase this number.”
She disclosed that lawmakers are working on a popular affirmative action bill. “We have a bill that is very popular that we are working towards in Nigeria on the special seats for women,” Ogbara said. “We are trying very hard to ensure that this bill passes through, to be able to take effect by the next election.”
Welcoming guests “to Nigeria in New York”, Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires at the Permanent Mission to the UN, Ambassador Syndoph Endoni, framed the evening as a working fellowship in support of the CSW70 agenda.
“As we gather here in New York, we are reminded that the work of this Commission is ultimately about people, about the dignity, rights and opportunities of women and girls whose lives our policies are meant to improve,” he said.
He linked the domestic Renewed Hope framework with Nigeria’s commitments on the CSW70 priority theme of ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls. “Under the leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria is implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda, a national framework aimed at promoting inclusive growth, social protection and expanded opportunities for all Nigerians, particularly women and youth,” he said.
“Our approach is grounded in a simple but powerful principle: empowering women is essential to national development,” Endoni continued. “Nigeria has therefore prioritised women’s economic empowerment as a key driver of sustainable growth and our long-term ambition of building a one trillion-dollar economy, which is going to be made possible by women.”
He highlighted how technology is being deployed to break structural barriers. “Digital innovation is also playing a transformative role. The Happy Women digital platform connects Nigerian women directly to financial services, global markets and capacity-building opportunities, helping to remove long-standing structural barriers,” he said.
The envoy noted that national social protection programmes now reach “over 9.4 million households, with women accounting for more than 70% of beneficiaries,” and praised President Tinubu’s decision to designate 2026 as Nigeria’s Year of Social Development and Families, a move the minister herself has publicly described as putting families, women and children at the centre of development.
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“Let tonight’s fellowship serve as a reminder that when we work together we strengthen the global movement for gender equality,” he said. “When we go alone, we go fast and short, but when we go as a team and together, we go further.”
Offering a generational contrast, Special Assistant to the President on Women Affairs, Fatima Farooq, spoke candidly about navigating high office as one of the youngest appointees.
“I welcome you all to this high-level ministerial evening of conversation and fellowship,” she began. “I am one of the few young people Mr. President has appointed, and I can say that since my appointment, I have grown so much. Although it’s been tough trying to adjust in a group of a bit older women, everybody’s making it easy for me. I have the former minister here, who is a grandma to me. I have the minister here, who is also a mom to me.”
Turning to lawmaking and representation, she saluted Ogbara: “Kudos to you, Honourable Kafilat for what you’re doing in the parliament, hopefully, in 2027, we will have at least maybe 360 members to be female. I am also doing as little as I can to see how I can contribute to the women in Parliament. And I will say you will see more of my efforts this year.”
A representative of the government of Serbia underscored the international dimension of the evening, describing the Nigeria–Serbia relationship as a partnership on a shared path towards equality.
“It’s very nice to be here tonight with you and to share this special evening in Nigeria. It’s been nice to cooperate with your country. Serbia and Nigeria have so much to offer each other, to be partners on this path. And I wish you all good luck and to get equity for all.”
The dinner drew a broad cross-section of Nigeria’s women leaders across politics, traditional institutions, security, development and civil society, mirroring CSW70’s emphasis on multi-stakeholder alliances for justice and action.
Among those in attendance were former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Pauline Tallen; Olori Temitope Adeyeye-Ogunwusi, wife of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II; Nigerian Police Force gender adviser, DIG Aishatu Abubakar-Baju, PhD.
Also present were the wife of the Minister of Defence, Mrs. Lilian Oghogho Musa; Mrs. Heineken Lokpobiri, wife of the Minister of State for Petroleum; Plateau State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Caroline Panglang Dafur; and Hauwa Haliru-Hassan, Director of Gender Affairs and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses’ Forum, and other gender focal person for the Ministry of Finance and former federal permanent secretary, Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, attended alongside a strong delegation of Niger Delta women from Bayelsa State, while the civil society space was represented by Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Nigerian activists, and partners from ECOWAS and the African Union as well as
CEO of Adashe Women Housing and Empowerment Society (Adashe Housing), Dr. Umma Sani.
