Niger Delta
S’South Govs Wives Review Women Dev Plans
The Forum of South-South Governors’ Wives met in Yenagoa to review their action plan for improved economic development and social health status for women and children in the region.
The forum, which met on Wednesday, was hosted by the Bayelsa Governor’s wife, Mrs Alayingi Sylva in conjunction with UNICEF, NDDC, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Sylva appealed to donor agencies to assist in financing the various projects of the governors’ wives to improve the welfare and socio-economic wellbeing of Niger Delta women and children.
She said that the creation of the Ministry of Gender and Social Development in the state had effected a significant change in the status and level of matters relating to the welfare of women and children.
She specifically appealed to UNICEF to support the initiatives of the forum in their various projects “to bring succour to the living conditions of women, children and the physically challenged persons.
“The UN made a declaration to make the world a better place in 2015, with its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), yet with just five years left to 2015, our women are still battling to achieve these goals.
“Governor’s wives have therefore, resolved to support their husbands to ensure that the MDGs are met,” Sylva said.
In her presentation, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Nigeria, Mrs Pelucy Ntambirweki, enumerated the various positive inputs that the forum could make in addressing the development challenges facing women and children in the region.
In her presentation entitled “Achieving Strategic Results for Children: The Role of Governors’ wives,” she expressed regret over the incidence of malnutrition among many children in rural communities.
Ntambirweki said that diseases posed great challenge to the government and the development agencies.
She said: “We can mobilise the governors’ wives to redouble their efforts in their respective states in tackling the challenges facing women and children, especially those from poor backgrounds.”
The UNICEF chief stressed the need to intensify efforts toward raising the issues of the vulnerability of children and women to the highest point and make them the priority of government.
While assuring them of UNICEF support, Ntambirweki called on the first ladies to evolve more result-oriented measures that would help them to actualise the objectives of their development projects.
In their contributions, the wife of the Cross River Governor, Mrs Obioma Imoke and her Rivers counterpart, Mrs Judith Amaechi, highlighted the “impressive submissions on our pet projects, the Mothers against Child Abandonment (MACA) and the Empowerment Support Initiatives (ESI) respectively’’.
Imoke pointed out that the governor’s wives had been restricted by lack of funds and solicited for renewed partnership between donor agencies and their offices in the region.
In her solidarity speech, the Community Relations Officer of Brass LNG, Mrs Ruth Benamaisia-Opia, reiterated the company’s readiness to partner with the governor’s wives.
She said the company was ready to assist them in their pet projects and the provision of welfare packages to children and women.
The meeting ended with a nine-point communiqué, urging the forum to develop an economic empowerment strategy for women with the introduction of micro-credit and conditional cash schemes.
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