The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs has expressed its readiness to partner with relevant agencies of government as well as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) towards the empowerment of the feminine gender in the country, especially in agriculture and other fields of endeavour.
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Barrister (Mrs) Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye disclosed this today when she met with the Directors-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), Federal Institute for Industrial Research (FIIRO), Representatives of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) as well as Innovative Hub in her office in Abuja.
She stated that the Ministry under her watch was determined to deploy all necessary initiatives and innovations that will ensure the realization of this goal.
Barrister Ohanenye expressed optimism that if women which represent 49.6 of the country’s population, according to Statista 2024, are adequately empowered with skills, there will be a great improvement in their livelihoods as it will impact not only on individual families but also on the society at large, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of the nation.
The Minister stated further that the Ministry intends to leverage on science, technology and innovation to make Nigerian women self reliant, entrepreneurial and employers of labour, in line with contemporary realities.
She called on the Agencies that are technologically inclined to immediately commence the mass production of their prototype machines such as fish rearing, grilling and packaging, rice farming, poultry and garri processing among others, with a view to upscaling women’s growth and development for self reliance and entrepreneurship.
Barrister Kennedy-Ohanenye assured that the Ministry was committed to creating an enabling environment for the empowerment of women, children and the vulnerable in the country in line with the policy thrust of the present administration.
She thanked the agencies for their readiness to collaborate with the Ministry towards the improvement of the lives of women in Nigeria.
Speaking earlier, the Director General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS) Kuru, Professor Ayo Omotayo stated that the entourage was in the Ministry to seek possible areas of collaboration, especially in relation to women empowerment.
He assured that relevant agencies on the visit were ready to partner with the Ministry, particularly in the mass production of prototype machines such as fish rearing and grilling equipment; garri processing and rice production hat can be massively distributed at the grassroots level to boost the economic growth and status of the nation’s mothers.
He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Barrister (Mrs) Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye as well as the Management Staff of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs for their commitment towards improving the lives of women, children and the vulnerable in the society.
Signed
Mrs Grace Njoku
Head, Information and Public Relations
