13-Member C’ttee Inaugurated For National Women Economic Empowerment Policy In A’Ibom

By Solomon Umanah
UYO
A 13-member committee for the domestication of the National Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) policy in Akwa Ibom was on Friday, inaugurated in Uyo.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Committee, which was held at the Conference room of the Nigeria For Women Project(NFWP), the commissioner for women affairs and social welfare, Dr Ini Adiakpan, said the Committee’s inauguration was informed by the need to formulate policy framework for Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) in the state, as well as “come out with monitoring and evaluation framework that will assist in tracking all the women empowerment programmes that had been done in the state,” adding that the Committee will also assess the impacts of past empowerment programmes, as well as provide guidelines for future engagement of such programmes.
While urging the participants to work out indices that will enable the state to secure an acceptable policy framework for WEE, Adiakpan pointed out that the domestication process will equally take into consideration the peculiarity of the Akwa Ibom women’s situation and their expectations, “using the bottom-up approach.”
The women affairs boss, who lauded Gov Umo Eno for maintaining policies of inclusivity and empowerment, particularly targeted toward the women, reasoned that, “there cannot be any political engagement for the women if they are not economically empowered,” stressing, “it is a truism that when a woman is empowered the whole community is empowered, and there cannot be balanced development without women economic empowerment, therefore, for us to achieve set goals in our state in particular, and in Nigeria as a whole, the women have to be developed economically,” she remarked.
  Citing the monumental achievements recorded by the Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP) in the state since its inception, Adiakpan said the programme was not just concerned about improving the livelihoods of women, but also the holistic inclusion of women in Socio-Political, economic and health policies and programmes of the government.
She, however, congratulated the Committee members on their successful inauguration, expressing optimism that they will deliver on the assigned mandate.
Speaking on behalf of other Committee members, the chairman of the Committee and director, legal drafting in the ministry of Justice, Barr Ime Obot, commended Adiakpan for setting up the Committee and pledged her committee’s readiness to deliver on their assigned responsibilities.
The Committee has as its chairman, Barr Ime Obot; Barr Ini Ememobong, co-chairman; Barr Nkechi Udo, secretary; Barr OfonimeEtuknwa, member, among others.