{"id":354179,"date":"2026-03-30T03:41:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T02:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=354179"},"modified":"2026-03-29T22:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T21:14:16","slug":"wdc-rivers-state-deputy-governor-prof-odu-call-inclusion-of-woman-and-girls-decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=354179","title":{"rendered":"WDC: Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Odu\u00a0 Call Inclusion Of Woman And Girls Decision Making\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"auto\">\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Ngozi Nma Odu, has called for greater inclusion of women and girls in decision-making processes across all sectors, stressing that amplifying their voices is critical to national development.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. (Mrs.) Ngozi Nma Odu (Right), Launching the CIFAL Nigeria\u2019s Voices of Experiences during the Mentoring the Next Generation and Joint Commemoration of UN International Women\u2019s Day and World Water Day at the Rivers State University Complex,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">She made the call during the launch of the \u201cVoices of Experience\u201d mentorship programme and the joint commemoration of the International Women\u2019s Day and World Water Day at Rivers State University on Tuesday.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Odu underscored the burdens borne by women, particularly in rural communities, where they play central roles in water sourcing and food production. She reaffirmed support for initiatives that promote gender advocacy, noting that women\u2019s lived realities must inform policies.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">She also stressed the need to sustain the 30 per cent affirmative action for women\u2019s inclusion, urging women to emulate pioneers such as Margaret Ekpo and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who championed women\u2019s rights in Nigeria\u2019s past.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Drawing from local experience, Odu recounted how women in Egi community mobilised to demand change by peacefully protesting at an oil facility, demonstrating the power of collective action.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">She further advocated partnerships with CIFAL Nigeria and UNITAR to deepen mentorship for young people, noting that such collaborations are essential for building inclusive governance and transferring values to future generations.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Isaac Zeb-Obipi, emphasised the need to recognise women\u2019s contributions globally, particularly in water management. He called for increased investment in women\u2019s education and empowerment to ensure access to clean water.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Zeb-Obipi also pledged to align the institution\u2019s academic and research activities with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, while commending CIFAL Nigeria for its innovative programmes.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In her keynote address titled Inclusive Leadership: Building Institutions that Reflect All Voices, former Commissioner for Information, Ibim Semenitari, lamented declining female political representation. She noted that women\u2019s participation, which rose from 1.8 per cent in 1999 to about 8 per cent in 2007, has dropped to roughly 4 per cent.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">According to her, the issue is not participation but systemic exclusion, describing it as \u201ca justice problem.\u201d She also decried barriers facing youths and persons with disabilities, including limited access to leadership opportunities and inclusive education systems.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Director of CIFAL Nigeria, Ihuoma Njemanze, said the centre aims to bridge generational gaps by engaging young people\u2014particularly digital natives\u2014in conversations on women\u2019s empowerment and sustainable development.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">She disclosed plans to create platforms for dialogue, global exchanges and capacity-building initiatives aligned with UN goals.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Also speaking, Herritta Ogan identified cultural and institutional barriers as persistent obstacles to women\u2019s advancement, while highlighting weak mentorship among women as a critical gap.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The event featured mentorship sessions, panel discussions and award presentations, reinforcing calls for inclusive leadership and sustained advocacy for gender equality.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yj6qo\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adL\" dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Ngozi Nma Odu, has called for greater inclusion of women and girls in decision-making processes across all sectors, stressing that amplifying their voices is critical to national development. Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. (Mrs.) Ngozi Nma Odu (Right), Launching the CIFAL Nigeria\u2019s Voices of Experiences during the Mentoring the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67315,"featured_media":354233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354240,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354179\/revisions\/354240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/354233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}