Minister Tasks Women Centre On Renewed Hope Agenda

The minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has reiterated that the programmes of the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development (MBNCWD) must align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

The minister also called for a recommitment to empowering Nigerian women, children, families, and other vulnerable groups with programmes designed to meet their needs.

The minister disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when the director-general of the centre, Dr. Asabe Vilita Bashir and her team paid her a courtesy visit.

Acknowledging the centre as the only parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, she noted that it needs to review its structures and operations.

The minister also identified the need for establishing a department dedicated to community development. She said given the emerging issues and concerns around women’s empowerment, this is crucial for addressing grassroots needs and delivering tailored, innovative programmes.

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In a statement signed by the minister’s special adviser on media and publicity, Mr Jonathan Eze, the minister also emphasised that the centre must align its planned programmes with the Ministry’s 10 deliverables, particularly as it expands to the six geopolitical zones.

The statement reads in part: “These deliverables must guide every activity to ensure measurable impacts.

“To ensure accountability and drive results, there is a need for the DG to sign a Performance Bond, committing to deliver on the centre’s mandate, while maintaining that the management staff should also sign performance bonds with the director-general to reinforce accountability at all levels.

“This approach will create a culture of responsibility, ensuring that every action contributes to the ministry’s goals.”

The minister stressed the need for timely submission of quarterly and periodic reports, noting that it is essential for tackling progress and demonstrating results, adding that strengthening partnerships with development partners and the private sector will amplify the Center’s reach and impact.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim commended the centre’s leadership for its well-maintained structure, whose impact is evident through training, entrepreneurship, and research, which remain central to women’s development.

Earlier, the director general, Dr Bashir, in her presentation, highlighted the centre’s core mandate and function, which charges the centre with the responsibility of stimulating consciousness towards the attainment of higher levels of development and activities for Nigerian women and promoting international cooperations for the attainment of its objectives.

Bashir expressed optimism that the minister’s leadership under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will bring the much-desired change that will optimally enhance women’s development.

The permanent secretary, Dr Maryam Ismaila Kashinro, was also on the ground touring the facilities, urging the team to continue to do more to advance its mandates.