Bello hails women’s role in Abuja Project

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has paid glowing tributes to women for their role towards the realisation of the Nigeria’s dream for a new capital.
The minister stated this last week during the International Women’s Day celebrations.
Bello, while acknowledging the pivotal role that women had played in the realisation of the Abuja Project, noted that Abuja would not “have been what it is today without the contributions of women, which span all aspects, including engineering, law, administration and social services.
” He said: “Indeed, long before the idea of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was conceived, it was a woman named Dr.
Ladi Kwali that took Abuja to global reckoning.
The hard work, industry and skills of the Abuja woman in pottery, matmaking, agriculture and indeed the family are all too well known.
“When the clarion call for change in this country was sounded, you were not found wanting.
For this reason, the President Buhari’s administration is working assiduously towards giving women a pride of place in all fields of human endeavour and national development.
” He further disclosed that as part of efforts to bridge the gender divide and empower women to be self-reliant and employable, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), will rehabilitate and upgrade the Ushaffa Pottery Centre to a centre for skill acquisition and empowerment for women to gift them with entrepreneurship development skills.
Bello also revealed that the FCT Administration “is committing a total of N96.7 million to a UNESCO Youth Mobile ICT and Mobile Application training project that is designed to inculcate in women and youths employable skills that will make them competitive in the contemporary job market.
” The minister said over 1,000 participants drawn from women and youths in the six area councils of the Territory “are benefitting from this training programme.
” He stated that the FCTA’s One Village-One-Product (OVOP) scheme “is specifically targeting rural women in order to improve their place in the agricultural value-chain and expose them to national and international export market.
” “To this end we have pilot enterprise development and empowerment projects such as a Shear-butter Processing Centres in Nuku and Rimba communities in Abaji area council, as well as a Cassava Processing Centre in Chikuku, Kwali area council.
” Bello added that the administration was working to upgrade all institutional frameworks designed to empower and create jobs for women, as well as eliminate all hindrances to their full participation in the economic and political frontiers of the society.

 

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