Kebbi targets women for economic empowerment
Kebbi State Government has fully domesticated the Nigeria for Women Project under which two point seven billion naira has been expended on the empowerment of more than fifty-eight thousand women.
Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu announced this in a message to the flag-off of the National Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy Dialogue, sub-national road show for the North-West held this Friday at the Presidential Lodge, Birnin Kebbi, under the supervision of the Minister for Women Affairs, Dame Pauline K. Tallen.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Babale Umar Yauri, the governor added that Kebbi state also received three billion naira for Kebbi-Cares social intervention scheme of which more than fifty percent of beneficiaries were women.
The governor commended the efforts of his wife, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu for uniting women in Kebbi state as manifested in the women mega rally for APC at Argungu last Saturday as well as enhancing their socio-economic prosperity and healthcare services.
Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu was also full of commendation for the Minister for Women Affairs, Dame Pauline K. Tallen for promoting the wellbeing of women folk and safeguarding the integrity of womanhood.
Addressing the gathering, the wife of the Governor, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu thanked the Federal Government, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister for Women Affairs for attaching prominence to Kebbi State in the implementation of programmes with positive impact on the lives of women.
Dr. Zainab informed her guest that Kebbi state government has laid emphasis on gender parity and equity in governance and politics as demonstrated by incumbent administration for making it possible to have at least a female councillor in all the twenty-one local government councils of the state.
Flagging off the programme, the Minister for Women Affairs, Dame Pauline K. Tallen congratulated Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and his wife Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu for fulfilling promise to create and enforce the law on the protection of child’s rights and violence against individuals, including Gender Based Violence, GBV.
Dame Pauline Tallen further commend Dr. Zainab for promoting the health status of the people of the state through her Medicaid organization, recalling that the wife of the governor supported free cancer screening for three hundred people at the National Hospital Abuja in 2019.
The Minister spoke about the importance of joint effort among local, state and federal governments, traditional rulers, religious leaders, captains of industries, gender advocates, and other stakeholders to attain the goal five of the united nations on gender equality in the society.
Dame Pauline Tallen expressed appreciation to the Emir of Gwandu, His royal highness, Alhaji Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashar, whom she visited on Thursday, for extolling the power of women as essential component in national development.
She acknowledged the immense contribution of women to economic growth and agricultural production in the country, urging men to offer the necessary support to their wives to become active participants in business, trade, governance and politics.
The Minister commended President Muhammadu Buhari sincerely for advancing the economic prosperity of women in Nigeria by giving the necessary wherewithal to the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to disburse loans and social intervention funds to women as well as distributed empowerment equipment to women entrepreneurs in all the six geo-political zones of the country.
She announced that the President has approved the setting up of high level Advisory Council on empowerment of women and girls in Nigeria to advise government on enhancing the status of women.
Dame Pauline Tallen explained that the outcome of the recommendations would serve as catalyst for the formulation of the National Women Economic Empowerment policy to be launched by President Muhammadu Buhari this year.
The Minister urged women to troop out en masse and vote for the APC in the forthcoming polls.
Other speakers at the flag off ceremony were the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Alhaji Shehu Shinkafi represented by the Director, Economic Services, Alhaji Idris Muhammad, an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Chindo Gotomo ,an executive of the National Council for Women Societies, Mallama Fati Adamu Lau, Mrs. Rimmicit Aboki of Albright Stonebridge Group and Mrs. Ruth Mishelia, National Project Coordinator, Nigeria for Women Project.
The minister in company of the wife of the Governor inspected agricultural equipment and input to be distributed to the women beneficiaries at the Presidential Lodge while earlier at the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Dame Pauline Tallen assisted by Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Hajiya Aisha Maikurata, distributed gas cylinders to hundreds of women, including persons with disability .
The items were procured on the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to ease cooking chores of rural women, safeguard their health wellbeing and minimize deforestation by discouraging the use of firewood for cooking.
Signed,
YAHAYA SARKI,
Special Adviser (SA) Media to Kebbi State Governor
27/1/2023
