Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has inaugurated a Multi-sectoral Coordinating Structure (MCS), Committee to optimize the success of the federal government’s Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP), approving N450 million for the scale-up and inauguration of the committee.
Inaugurating the MCS Committee at the EXCO Chambers, Government House, Uyo, the governor explained that the NFWP, was a major initiative by the President Bola Tinubu – led central government with the support of World Bank to improve the lives of women across the country.
“In Akwa Ibom state, the project seeks to improve thousands of women with the skills, resources and support needed to generate income, improve household conditions, and contribute more effectively to local development.
“To achieve these goals, the Multi-sectoral Coordinating Structure is an essential mechanism designed to ensure effective collaboration among key ministries and agencies involved in women economic empowerment,” he explained.
The governor disclosed that the MCS would help integrate the efforts of various sectors such as health, agriculture, and education into a cohesive strategy for empowering women.
Besides, he said it would provide the structure needed to plan, implement, and monitor these efforts, ensuring that each ministry remains accountable and progress made in ways that support the broader objectives of the project.
He said his administration has released the N450 million for the scale-up and inauguration of the body to provide the platform to access the money for project implementation as well as the World Bank intervention portfolio funds for the 29 participating states.
He added that the inauguration of the Multi-sectoral Coordinating Structure is a key opportunity to drive inclusive development, and that prioritizing the launch will help unlock the full potential of NFWP by bringing together different ministries to work in harmony and support women’s success.
The governor reeled out the terms of reference for the workings of the MCS to include “ensuring that each sector and ministry has clearly identified its priority programme with respect to state’s commitment to women economic empowerment; support the operationalisation of women affinity groups as platforms for delivery of developmental activities; ensure women economic empowerment has adequate attention in the state’s development strategies and framework as well as budgeting processes.”
According to the governor, other terms include reviewing annual plans and progress reports from the different ministries and sectors in the MCS, making appropriate recommendations on gaps or areas that require extra attention, and carrying out other responsibilities that may be assigned to them by the governor.
The MCS Committee will be chaired by the Governor and co-chaired by the Deputy Governor, commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, and the Special Advisers on the Bureau of Cooperative and Rural Development. The state Project Coordinator will serve as secretary of the committee.
The MCS 14-member committee includes commissioners for Health, Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Education, Agriculture, Water Resource and Sanitation, Trade and Investment, Special Advisers on the Bureau of Cooperative and Rural Development, and the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.
Others included the executive secretary of the Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, the permanent secretary of Human Capacity Development, the Legal Advisor of the Nigeria For Women Project, and the secretary of the state Project Coordinator of the state’s Coordinating Unit of the Nigeria For Women Project.
