I delivered the welcome remarks today at the Steering Committee Meeting of the @EU_Commission/@UN's Joint Spotlight Initiative held at the UN House, Abuja.
#Thread
#Thread
(1) At the meeting, I decried the gruesome rape and murder of Vera Uwaila Omozuwa and Barakat Bello, and commended the @PoliceNG authorities for swinging into action and pledging to bring the perpetrators to justice.
(2) I stated that incidences such as these make it imperative for all stakeholders to do everything possible to ensure that women and girls in Nigeria live in a world safe for them, and the @EU_Commission /@UN's Joint Spotlight Initiative, therefore, represents a - [cont'd]
(3) — a veritable tool for such partnership.
On behalf of the @NigeriaGov, I expressed our country's gratitude to the @EU_Commission and the @UN for their joint efforts at eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as other initiatives that - [cont'd]
On behalf of the @NigeriaGov, I expressed our country's gratitude to the @EU_Commission and the @UN for their joint efforts at eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as other initiatives that - [cont'd]
(4) — are targeted at achieving gender equality and women's empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
(5) The Spotlight initiative aligns with Nigeria’s national priorities as encapsulated in the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017-2020, whose successor plan, the Nigerian National Development Plan, has an important pillar in ensuring that women’s issues are well captured
(6) In this regard, I noted that the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the new Nigeria National Development Plan and Nigeria’s Minister of @FinMinNigeria is a woman. The Secretary of the Steering Committee is also a woman.
(7) The umbrella body for women in Nigeria, the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), is also represented in addition to other women in various government positions whose activities reflect President @MBuhari’s desire to give women a positive voice in leadership.
(8) From an economic perspective, I opined that it is not only devastating for survivors of the violence and their families, but also entails significant social and economic costs.
(9) It is therefore important for us to pool our efforts and take all necessary actions to stop violence against women and girls, which like Covid-19 has become a global pandemic affecting 1 in 3 women in their lifetimes.
(10) I highlighted how President @MBuhari's administration, in the last five years, has worked tirelessly to address some of the issues that confront our nation in the area of violence against women and girls.
(11) Worthy of mention is the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, signed by Mr President in 2015 to ban all forms of violence and also provide justice for such crimes.
(12) Going forward, the @NigeriaGov intends to build on the gains of past years and conclude the work of changing, in a fundamental way, all issues relating to violence against women and girls.
(13) I also took the opportunity to note that since the implementation of the Country programme in the various spotlight states of Adamawa, Cross- River, Ebonyi, Lagos and Sokoto, the feedback has been very encouraging and also urged stakeholders - [cont'd]
(14) — to remain committed to this bold and transformative Initiative which aims not just to create a society that is safe for women and girls but one in which they have the full enjoyment of all human rights.
#NextLevel
#NextLevel
