Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has disclosed that about 100,000 women across the state have benefited from the World Bank-supported Nigeria for Women Programme (NFWP), describing women’s economic empowerment as a strategic tool for fighting poverty and strengthening families and communities.
Abiodun made the disclosure on Monday when he received the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Amina Mohammed, who joined him in interacting with beneficiaries of the programme at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The governor said his administration deliberately embraced and took ownership of the programme because it provided an opportunity to reach women at the grassroots who might otherwise remain outside conventional structures of political and economic empowerment.
According to him, empowering women should go beyond appointing them to political offices to providing them with the resources, skills and opportunities required to build sustainable livelihoods, support their families and live with dignity.
“When the World Bank shared with us the Nigeria for Women Project, we did not only key into it; we took ownership of it.
