Women Affairs minister restates FG’s commitment to advancing gender equality
By John Ogunsemore
The Minister of Women Affairs, Barrister (Mrs) Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has restated the Federal Government’s commitment to women empowerment to enhance their economic status and enable them to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of Nigeria as well as their respective families.
The minister, who gave the assurance during an interaction with journalists in Abuja, stated that women were naturally endowed and only need a boost through the creation of an enabling environment to excel and showcase these potentials.
When empowered, she said, the gender can also make invaluable input to the country’s objectives of poverty alleviation, job creation, reduction in out-of-school dropouts, early marriages, as well as sexual and gender-based violence.
Kennedy-Ohanenye disclosed that this informed the ministry’s decision, despite lean resources, to change the narratives, using various initiatives that would enhance their development through access to funds, skill acquisition, improved seedlings for quantum agricultural produce, among others, so as to enable them to take their position in society in accordance with contemporary global realities.
The minister explained that, some strategic moves made by the ministry include the hosting of the Nigeria For Women Programme early in the year to among others, enhance partnership with traditional rulers that would ensure the actualisation of the new narratives at the grassroots, setting up of the e-commerce portal to enable the gender access funds and grants, the supply of sustainable empowerment equipment to 15 states of the federation as well as the planting of high yield rice and maize seedling in some states.
She further said that the ministry would continue to explore innovative mechanisms and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure the realisation of its mandate.
This, according to her, will include a fund-raising programme in the month of October to enable the ministry raise monies, agricultural equipment, skill acquisition tools, etc, for the empowerment of more women, especially at the grassroots.
The minister, therefore, called on development partners, non-governmental organisations and well- meaning Nigerians to support the ministry in the realisation of its mandate in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.