The Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Hon Mrs Toyin Balogun has commended Governor Seyi Makinde for surpassing the 33% standard earmarked for women inclusion in governance.
Mrs Balogun gave the commendation on Friday in commemoration of Year 2024 International Women’s Day Celebration in a statement she made available to newsmen in Ibadan.
“It’s with every sense of responsible excitement that I wish the incredible, beautiful,tenacious and intelligent women of Oyo State a Happy International Women’s Day.
“International Women’s Day is an annual International Observance set aside to celebrate the fortitude,resilience,creativity and immense ability to add value deposited within the female gender by Providence.
“The aphorism that says : Provide a woman any resource,she would transform & add value to it is very true.
“The female demographic in Oyo State is fortunate to have a Governor who is intentional,mindful and values the capacity of the female gender to add value to governance and nation building.
“This is exemplified in the composition of the Oyo State Executive Council where over 33 percent presently are comprised of women.
“We are also hopeful and expectant that soon,even more of our women will feature among the lists of appointed positions to be further released by His Excellency.
“In the weeks,months ahead and in line with the mandates of the National Gender Policy,in the government of His Excellency Governor Seyi Makinde,the Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Inclusion is going to drive the Inclusion of Gender Pillars,central coordination points within requisite line ministries to ensure that the provisions of the National Gender Policy are incorporated accordingly with the needs and interests of our women taken into cognizance when salient decisions with developmental or economic implications are to be taken.
The Commissioner stated that a lot of our women do not have access to land for agricultural purposes.She also said the percentage of women who benefit from agricultural grants and inputs in the state can and would be improved opon through an intentional collaboration between the Ministry of Women Affairs & requisite decision points and stakeholders in the ministries of Agriculture,Local Government &Chieftaincy titles.
“Not more than 10 per cent of women are in charge of large scale business because they lack access to both land for collateral purposes and funding for their commercial activities.
The Honorable Commissioner also observed that the percentage of women in information and Communication Technology in the state is negligible in comparison to their male peers.
“The foregoing are some of the areas of concern which the government of Governor Seyi Makinde will be taking definitive steps to focus on because of their implications for sustainable economic development.”
Hon( Mrs) Toyin Balogun also observed that vices such as transactional sex and other negative coping mechanisms such as substance abuse, human trafficking, rape, physical and emotional violence, Female Genital Mutilation, Sodomy,forced child marriage,street begging and destitution among others have increased in our society including vices like Ritual Murder by Intimate Partners etc
She maintained that these societal ills were aggravated as a result of COVID-19, climate change,the removal of fuel subsidy and other harsh economic policies.
According to her, many women in the state are presently heads of households due to abandonment by their husbands, while some have become heads of households through widowhood
On a brighter note,The state government is presently reviewing and implementing several Economic and Social Welfare Interventions eg Food Banks,Back To School Giveaway Interventions,Skills Acquisition Programs,Agri-based Empowerment Programs like the Amo Byng Empowerment Program ,Economic Grants and Cooperative Schemes like the Nigeria for Women Project all of which not less than 200,000 female citizens of Oyo State will benefit from
This is in line with the adopted mandate of the Ministry of Women Affairs to lift 4million citizens of the State from within the ranks of the Vulnerable Communities(Women,Children,Elderly & Physically Challenged) to Self Sustenance and then to prosperity between now and 2027.
Ps join hands in gloves with the Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Inclusion and be intentional about positioning strategically to benefit from and make a success of all these laudable initiatives as they come on stream.
In the next couple of weeks,the Ministry would be hosting series of events in commemoration of the International Women”s Day 2024 Edition
Once again,on behalf of Her Excellency the First Lady of Oyo State; Engr Tamunomini Makinde and all of us at the Ministry of Women Affairs & Social Inclusion,I wish all women of Oyo State a superlative International Women’s Day.
Hon( Mrs) Toyin BALOGUN
COMMISSIONER FOR WOMEN AFFAIRS & SOCIAL INCLUSION