By Abba-Eku Onyeka, Abuja
The Honourable Minister, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has called for a closer working relationship between the FCT Administration (FCTA) and the National Center for Women Development (NCWD) toward promotion of issues relating to the wellbeing of women in the FCT.
In a press release from the office of Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Minister, Anthony Ogunleye yesterday, the Minister made the call during a courtesy visit by the Management of the Center to the FCTA on Tuesday.
Malam Bello said that the FCT had always been in the forefront of the promotion of issues that relate to women, especially the girl child and is usually one of the first to implement all gender protocols, including those contained in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He also reminded them that the National Center for Women Development was located in close proximity to the FCTA and advised its management to use this advantage to work very closely with the FCTA to promote women issues in the FCT, that can be replicated in other parts of the country.
FCT Minister also congratulated the Director General of the NCWD on her appointment, saying that her antecedents in the fight for women and children’s rights and gender equality were well documented and wished her a successful tenure.
Earlier the Director General (DG) of the Center, Hon. (Dr) Asabe Vilita Bashir said that the purpose of the visit was to intimate the Minister on the workings of the Center as an institution created for gender research, training and orientation. According to her, the Centre is interested in addressing the strategic elements and critical factors that affect women generally and is working with the support of Nigeria’s Gender Agenda, the African Platform for Action and the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action to facilitate the formation of appropriate policies training and organisation programmes for Nigerian women.
Also present at the courtesy visit were the Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Mr Olusade Adesola, the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu, the Director Department of Resettlement and Compensation Mrs. Perpetua Ohanma and the Acting Director Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, Dr Jummai Ahmadu amongst other staff of the FCTA.