By Hafsah Tilde
The Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) says it is repositioning its programmes to promote digital inclusion, skills development and economic empowerment for Nigerian women.
The Director-General of the centre, Mrs Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, said this during a familiarisation visit by the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, in Abuja.
Benjamins-Laniyi said the centre was being strategically positioned as a technical delivery vehicle for the Renewed Hope Agenda’s social impact interventions.
According to her, the goal is to ensure that national gender and social welfare policies translate into tangible benefits across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
She said the centre’s digital infrastructure was being restructured to bridge the digital divide and position Nigerian women as active participants and economic drivers in the digital economy.
“We are building a centre that delivers opportunities, strengthens partnerships and creates lasting impact for women across the country,” she said.
The Minister of Women Affairs urged the centre to play a greater role in driving women’s economic prosperity and supporting the Federal Government’s one-trillion-dollar economy vision.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said women must be active contributors to national economic growth and not merely beneficiaries of development interventions.
“We will not be spectators. We will not watch others create one trillion dollars. We are going to co-create the one-trillion-dollar economy together,” she said.
The minister emphasised the need for women to move beyond receiving support to creating wealth across productive sectors and value chains.
According to her, women should not only use products such as clean cooking stoves and laptops but also participate in their production and distribution.
“The centre will receive every necessary support to actualise its vision and fulfil the purpose for which it was established,” she said.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim later toured the shopping complex, arts and crafts centre, catering block, guest house, hostel, day-care centre, ICT facility and Women Resource Centre.
She also unveiled “The Beautiful One” sculpture, known as Kyakkyawar Mace in Hausa, Aŕewa in Yoruba and Omalicha in Igbo, during the visit.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru