Protocols,
- With heart full of purpose and voice echoing hope, I stand as the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, the national engine room for gender equity, inclusive protection, and transformative development.
- Today, we are not just gathered in fellowship but united as torchbearers of a cause greater than ourselves; a cause that binds our history, shapes our present, and must define our future.
- We are indeed fortunate to have at this time, a President like His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, one who understands that a truly developed nation cannot emerge without women at the table where decisions are made. As Governor of Lagos State, he laid the foundation for inclusive governance, appointing women into critical roles and mentoring a generation of female leaders. Today, under his Renewed Hope Agenda, that legacy continues as we have seen women emerge in roles that that were previously male dominated. The Renewed Hope Agenda is indeed all encompassing and it is indeed women’o clock. In addition he has continuously empowers our Ministry to drive policies that advance equity and impact vulnerable lives.
- I also wish to commend the First Lady of the Federal Republic, Her Excellency Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, a three-time Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; a woman who has walked the hard paths, endured the trenches, and emerged with a rare understanding of the terrain. In her, the Nation is blessed with a First Lady who not only understands the struggle, but has thrown her weight fully behind the fight for gender equity. Her Renewed Hope Initiative continues to offer dignity, relief, and inspiration to women and children across Nigeria.
- We applaud the gender-sensitive leadership of the 10th National Assembly, led by Senator Godswill Akpabio and Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, who today walked the talk by constantly creating the platform to sustain the conversation. Special thanks to Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, whose unwavering advocacy for the special seats for women is truly inspiring.
- Excellencies, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, a glance at the outcome of the 2023 general elections laid bare a stark and painful reality: women remain overwhelmingly underrepresented in Nigeria’s political architecture. Only 20 women emerged in the National Assembly, and just 48 in State Houses of Assembly; out of over 1,000 female candidates. This accounts for a mere 4.7 percent of elected legislators at both federal and state levels. Alarmingly, 14 states currently have no female lawmakers. This absence translates into silence on critical issues affecting women and families. The re-adopted national anthem stirs something deep: “sovereign motherland.” But how do we call this land our mother and yet erase her daughters from our legislative halls? Just 4.5 percent of our federal lawmakers are women ; 20 out of 469. This is not just a statistic; it is a national emergency demanding urgent reform.
- Even more disheartening is what transpired during the just-concluded Federal Capital Territory primaries. Despite having some of the most qualified, respected, and credible female aspirants on the ballot, not one woman secured a ticket. Their brilliance, pedigree, and passion were no match for the entrenched gender biases and structural exclusions that continue to haunt our political architecture. If the nation’s capital, our symbol of unity and progress; could not offer a single female candidate a seat, then we must admit: the system is broken.
- Despite our collective efforts, the Nigerian woman continues to bleed. She bleeds during childbirth in under-resourced clinics. She bleeds in silence when her daughter drops out of school because of menstrual poverty. She bleeds when her dreams are cut short by discriminatory laws, when inclusion bills are blocked on the floor of parliament, and when she is told to wait her turn in a system rigged against her from the start. She even bleeds in her home, when the boy-child is raised to believe in the myth of her inferiority.
- Our demands are clear and credible. We seek inclusion in decision-making to shape resilient communities and address issues that impact women and children; from menstrual hygiene and maternal health to gender-based violence, child marriage, and the care economy. Despite systemic barriers, the Nigerian woman rises; organised, relentless, and solution-driven. From the creeks of the Niger Delta to the markets of Onitsha, from Kebbi’s cooperatives to Abuja’s advocacy halls; women are leading change.
- To all the women groups in this room We see you. We hear you. We commend your resilience. You are the pulse of this movement; proof that hope endures and that justice must not denied
- Our Ministry’s mandate is broad and bold: to guarantee representation, dignity, and opportunity for women, children, families, and the vulnerable through a dynamic social protection system. Through the Renewed Hope Programmes, we are working tirelessly to advance inclusion across political participation, digital access, economic empowerment, peacebuilding, and the informal sector. But policy alone is not enough. We need a unified national movement to match our institutional momentum.
- I assure you of my unwavering support. But let us speak with one voice; not as fragmented interests but as daughters of one motherland demanding equity, justice, and visibility.
- To this end, we will convene a National Roundtable of all stakeholders; political parties, traditional leaders, faith-based organisations, corporate boards, market associations, and rural women collectives, to build a unified demand for change.
- I appeal directly to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Conference of Speakers, and progressive leaders: Support the Special Seats Bill. Let history remember that you used your pen to write women into Nigeria’s democratic story.
- As we echo the words of our anthem; “sovereign motherland,” we must ask: what is sovereignty when half the population is excluded from shaping it? Who speaks for the widow, the girl in IDP camps, the rural schoolgirl, or the woman denied equal pay, when women are not in the rooms where priorities are set?
- We must act and act now. Let inclusion rise above politics. Let our motherland hear the voices of her daughters and respond.
- I thank you all; and I especially thank the men, traditional rulers, and faith-based leaders who continue to pave the way for their daughters, sisters, and generations of Nigerian women to dare to aspire, lead, and thrive. Your support is the wind beneath our wings.
- Long live Nigerian Women.
Long live the 10th National Assembly.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed
Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, fsi
Honourable Minister for Women Affairs
