United Nations Women, a world body agency, has decorated Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a global ‘HeforShe champion’ for his supportive policies on women.
The group said the governor has made Kwara a gold standard for gender mainstreaming in Nigeria and the world. It added that the award, especially the lapel pin tacked to his chest, means that the governor is now a UN Women ambassador anywhere in the world.
The country representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, who led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Government House, Ilorin, said the governor merits the global honour for his exceptional dedication to gender inclusion, women empowerment, and overall development, as have been recorded in Kwara in the last five years.
Eyong said Kwara is a shining example for giving women their fair share of representation in governance.
“Kwara State is a very important state to women, and one of the reasons the state is important to us is because of what you have done in the state. We are here to thank and congratulate you for all that you’ve been doing over the years for gender equality, women empowerment, and overall development,” she said shortly before decorating the governor with the UN Women badge.
“You have made Kwara state a shining example in that regard. We are here to recognize you as a UN Women Global HEforSHE Champion. We learnt that in your first term in office, we had a female majority cabinet. And we’ve learnt that we now have a 50/50 cabinet in the state.
“We also learnt that the majority of the appointments that you make go to women and youth. Those are real progressive moves that you are doing. You have created a favourable environment for gender equality and women empowerment by passing affirmative action into law. These are parts of the reasons we chose Kwara.”
Eyong requested AbdulRazaq to speak with his colleagues at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to adopt 35 percent affirmative action on gender inclusion equally, noting this will stimulate the federal government to adopt the policy.
She said they were partly in Kwara to inform the governor about the UN Women’s advocacy on issues and programmes affecting women, such as training on low-cost biogas technology, which she said is targeted at easing cooking for women.
Eyong said the biogas programme is due for launch in Kwara in June, while similar initiatives will also be flagged off in the state ahead of any other states owing to its strategic importance to the UN Women.
On his part, the governor thanked the organisation for the honour, which he said would encourage him and others to do more.
AbdulRazaq said he has no regrets appointing women to key positions because “they have done so well.”
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