By Ene Osang
Abuja
Women in public service has been charged on personal development that can harness their leadership competences and enable them thrive in any given field.
The call was made in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a managerial and leadership training for women in public service, organised by Dukes Transnational Consult (DTC); a public and private sector development firm, in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF).
The Executive Director of DTC Mrs. Cecilia Idika-Kalu, while lamenting the huge gender gap in Nigeria, charged more women to equip themselves to handle supervisory roles confidently when the opportunity comes.
She emphasised leadership competence in women, saying there is a need for more functional organisations and systems within the civil service.
She however said for women to occupy leadership roles in the country, they must build their capacity, have self confidence and be ready to grab any available opportunity at leadership.
‘’If there is anything that is needed the most in Nigeria, it is the building of leadership competences especially on women.
‘’We have some way to go, we have done a lot and we have so many women to be proud of just like there are many competent men but for women to occupy roles in leadership they must develop themselves,’’ she said.
‘’That is why DTC have positioned itself and is committed to influence the course of things in Nigeria especially through developing women even to the grassroots,’’ she added.
In her goodwill message, the Director General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) Barrister Mary Ekpo said the development of women should not be for only women in the public service but should be extended to those in secular service.
Represented by head of legal services at the centre Barrister Jumai Adaramola, she added that when a woman is trained she trains everyone around here, hence contribute her quota to nation building.
A participant at the event Mrs. Bolanle Akinbo said leadership and management is a necessary quality every woman should posses, even as she called on the ministry of women affairs and social development to intensify its empowerment on grassroot women.
The training which will end on Friday have women representatives from the 36 states in the country including the local governments.
According to the organisers, it is expected that those who have been trained will pass the knowledge down to the grassroots so every woman would be carried along.
