In line with renewed efforts to ensure improved entrepreneurship and sustainable empowerment of Nigerian women, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs has distributed about 368 items in 15 states of the federation in the first phase of its initiative to scale up the socio-economic status of women and the vulnerable especially in the rural areas.
 
Making this disclosure during a press conference in Abuja today, the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Barr Uju Kennedy Ohanenye stated that the first phase of the distribution which is coming on the heels of recent launch of an E-Market portal for women, witnessed the distribution of Garri processing and frying machines, industrial sewing machines, industrial button hole holding machines, heavy industrial irons, Tapping machines, Steam pressing machines, Sewing machines for stretches and stitches, Cloth cutting machines, Fish smoking machines, 60,000 litres Fish rearing buckets and Rice Milling Machines.
 
“For the first phase, we have distributed these items to Anambra, Kano, Rivers, Imo, Lagos, Oyo, Katsina, Gombe, Kebbi, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Niger, Bayelsa, Benue and Jigawa states and have drawn out modalities for the next tranche of empowerment in other states and the idea is in fulfillment of my pronouncement in August last year on resumption of duty to change the narratives on empowerment of women in Nigeria” she said.
 
Speaking further, the Minister added “ it is obvious that our strategies towards improving the living condition of our women in the past has not yielded positive impact as most of our women especially in the rural areas are still in abject poverty. Our President is very emphatic about allowing the poor to breathe to provide a level ground for all Nigerians especially for women and the vulnerable because women and children are the major constituents of our population hence the need to place them on the front burner in the scheme of things”
 
“In our resolve to further encourage the women in their various business ventures, the Ministry is partnering with a financial institution that will provide 1,000 units of Point Of Sale (POS) machines per state for ease of doing business, we also have a private company which has concluded plans to provide free training for 300 ladies on skill acquisition across the 6 geo-political zones on computer solutions, codding and other internet skills which will come with free lap tops for them to start up their own business on completion of the program ” she also said.
 
She added that the Ministry resolved to introduce women to skill acquisition training programs on rice and fish farming, tailoring and other business ventures, “we had to partner with a Chinese firm in Abuja last year to train participants from 7 states on Rice farming and processing in addition to other training programs aimed at building the capacity of women on various business ventures. Part of the initiatives is to formally commission and hand over the distributed items to the Governors through the Commissioners for women Affairs of the benefiting states and also build stronger collaborations to scale up women empowerment in such states”
 
The Minister also stated that the national headquarters is working in collaboration with State Commissioners for Women Affairs and Council of Traditional Rulers to ensure transparency, proper coordination and implementation of on-going distribution of the empowerment items across the various states.
 

Ohaeri Osondu Joseph, Fnipr, Fcai
Special Assistant, Media