By Philip Yatai

The Canadian Embassy in Nigeria has commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, for taking step to address challenges affecting women development.

The Canada High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr James Chrisoff, gave the commendation when he visited Wike in his office in Abuja on Tuesday.

Chrisoff particularly described the establishment of Women Affairs Secretariat in the FCT Administration as a “critical step” towards women empowerment and development.

He said that Canada would maintain its strong diplomatic relation with Nigeria, adding that Nigerians residing in Canada were providing the necessary bridge between the two countries.

He expressed his country’s interest to partner with Nigeria on agriculture, in line with President Bola Tinubu economic agenda.

Responding, Wike assured foreign missions and other investors of improved security, stressing that security agencies were working to keep the country safe.

The minister said that the Joint Task Force on “one chance” operators was already yielding the desired results, adding that no incident was recorded since team began operation.

He added that President Bola Tinubu has put modalities in place to ensure that his renewed hope agendas is felt across the country.

According to him, a lot of development efforts is ongoing in the FCT in line with the renewed hope agenda.

“Security has improved in the FCT because security agencies have been working round the clock to ensure that the environment remains safe.

“For instance, the issue of one-chance, we set up a joint taskforce and they have been working round the clock, since then no incidence has been recorded.

“The renewed hope agenda of Mr President is to restore hope to our people,” he said.

Wike said that his leadership is focusing on increasing Internally Generated Revenue in the FCT to be able to carry out development projects.

He encouraged corporate bodies, foreign missions, and other taxpayers to fulfil their tax obligations.

In a related development, the pioneer Secretary, Women Affairs Secretariat, Mrs Adedayo Benjamin-Laniyi was inaugurated by the minister.

While inaugurating the secretary, Wike urged om the FCT Minister to come up with workable modalities for the secretariat to begin operation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Wike had on Oct. 13 announced Tinubu’s approval for the establishment of the Women Affairs Secretariat in FCTA to address women issues.

The minister had explained that the move was part of Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive governance that carried everyone along. (NAN)
Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi