President Bola Tinubu has provided unprecedented political backing for women’s empowerment and social impact programmes, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has said.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim made the remark at Nigeria House in New York during a dinner organised for the Nigerian delegation attending the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
The minister said the president had demonstrated strong political support for programmes aimed at advancing women’s development and social inclusion.
“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.
She urged women to work smarter, remain united and speak with one voice in order to achieve greater success.
According to her, Nigeria must rejuvenate its women’s movement to ensure stronger collaboration and mutual support among women.
“We must look out for each other as women. More than ever, the she-for-she factor is what will take us far,” she added.
Also speaking, the Chargé d’Affaires of Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Syndoph Endoni, said the CSW focuses on the dignity, rights and opportunities of women and girls whose lives policies are meant to improve.
Endoni said the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu was a national framework designed to promote inclusive growth, social protection and expanded opportunities for all Nigerians.
He noted that Nigeria had prioritised women’s economic empowerment as a key driver of sustainable growth and the country’s long-term ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
According to him, national social protection programmes have reached about 10 million households, with women accounting for more than 70 per cent of the beneficiaries.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Kafilat Ogbara, also expressed concern over the under-representation of women in Nigeria’s parliament.
She said women currently make up less than four per cent of lawmakers, adding that the 10th Assembly was working to address the imbalance.
Ogbara disclosed that lawmakers were pushing for an affirmative action bill aimed at reserving special seats for women in the legislature.
“We are trying very hard to ensure that this bill passes through, to be able to take effect by the next election,” she said.
Among the delegates at the event were former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Pauline Tallen, and the wife of the Ooni of Ife, Temitope Adeyeye-Ogunwusi, alongside wives of ministers, state commissioners for women’s affairs, civil society groups and a delegation from Serbia.