By Lucy Ogalue
The Broad Sustainable Women Economic Empowerment and Peace Initiative (B-SWEEP) said on Thursday that its rebranding was to widen its reach in the execution of its initiatives.

The President of B-SWEEP, Hajiya Hadiza Abubakar, said this during a visit to the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, in Abuja.

She said B-SWEEP, originally based in Bauchi as a non-governmental organisation, was rebranded and its headquarters moved to Abuja in 2019 to expand its reach.

According to Abubakar, the organisation focuses on women empowerment, advocacy for the girl child and creation of awareness on Gender-Based Violence.

“The purpose of our visit is to share our vision and mission with you and seek collaboration to ensure our programmes and activities reach a wider audience.

“The media has been instrumental in our successes and we are here to extend our hands of friendship to NAN,” she said.

Abubakar said it had undertaken impactful initiatives, including convening conferences on women’s roles in combating insecurity.

She said the organisation also had engagements with Internally Displaced Persons as well as launched awareness campaigns against Gender-Based Violence.

“Our activities have focused on empowering women through skills acquisition and ensuring access to quality education for the girl-child.

According to her, the organisation is also committed to promoting sustainable peace in the society.

“We recognise the role of the media in dissemination of information and we cannot achieve our objectives without the support of the media.

” That is why we are here to seek your collaboration.

” We look forward to having engagements with you and creating the synergy which will propel our programmes and activities across globe,” she said.

In his response, Ali commended B-SWEEP’s efforts and assured the organisation of the agency’s support in amplifying its initiatives.

“NAN is Nigeria’s National Purveyor of Information and Africa’s largest content provider.

” To maintain its global reach, NAN has offices in New York, Johannesburg, and Abidjan in Cote d’I’voire.

” In the past, we had more than 11 foreign offices. Due to paucity of funds, we had to shut down some of the offices.

” Plans are, however, on to reopen some of these offices,” Ali said.

According to him, NAN also has news exchange partnerships with major news agencies such as Reuters, Agence France Presse, Xinhua and Asian News Agency among others

” We will gladly partner with you to amplify the voices of women and address issues affecting the girl-child.

” This agency is ready to support your mission.

“ With over 500 editorial staff and partnerships with global media giants, NAN will deploy its resources to support your programmes and ensure your message reaches both national and international audiences,” he said.

He, however, urged B-SWEEP to provide timely updates on its activities to facilitate effective collaboration.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
(Edited by Mufutau Ojo)