A’Ibom Gets Technical Committee For NFWP

By Solomon Umanah 
UYO 
The Akwa Ibom State Technical Committee for the Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP) has been officially inaugurated with the permanent secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Margaret Edem, serving as chairman.
Inaugurating the Committee at the Conference Room of the Ministry, Friday, the commissioner for women affairs and social welfare, Mrs Inibehe Etukudo, said members of the Committee, nominated from different ministries were partners to the NFWP with their commissioners already serving on the main committee.
She listed the Committee’s terms of reference as: reviewing the annual work plans and budgets of the Nigeria For Women Project in Akwa Ibom, providing technical support that will ensure seamless implementation of the project, as well as advising on multi-sectoral coordination efforts geared toward the overall success of NFWP in the State.
Emphasising on the importance of collaboration among various ministries, with a view to ensuring timely implementation of the project, Etukudo said Governor Umo Eno was passionately concerned about the project’s success in the State, particularly as it was aimed at empowering the women, hence his demonstration of unwavering support toward its speedy implementation.
The women affairs boss, who congratulated the Committee members on their well-deserved appointment, expressed confidence in their ability to effectively represent their respective ministries while serving on the Committee.
She, however, urged them to ensure diligence, transparency, and effective monitoring of the progress of work done, with a view to achieving the project’s goals in the State.
Earlier in her presentation, the State coordinator of Nigeria For Women Project (NFWP), Ofonime Etuknwa Esq,, said the project was a partnership arrangement between the World Bank, Federal and Akwa Ibom State Governments, which was subsequently launched in the State, following the governor’s approval of N150 million as the State’s counterpart fund for the project, pointing out that the aim of the project was to foster economic empowerment among women through formation of self-reliant groups which, she said, contributed weekly savings, received financial education, and skills training in areas such as agriculture, health and business.
She disclosed that the project had been successfully implemented in six local government areas of the State, with plans to scale  up across other local government areas, adding that the beneficiaries were supported with equipment, micro grants and livelihood improvement initiatives, including cassava and oil palm processing.
Members of the technical committee included representatives from the Ministries of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Agriculture as well as Trade and Investment.
Others were drawn from the Ministries of Health, Finance, Budget and Planning, as well as Water Resources and Sanitation.
In her acceptance speech, the chairman of the Committee and permanent secretary, ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Margaret Edem, expressed happiness over the huge success recorded by the project since its inception in Akwa Ibom.
Edem paid glowing tribute to the previous administrations for nurturing the project at the early stage, and assured of her Committee’s commitment to working in alignment with the World Bank’s objectives with a view to ensuring the overall success of NFWP in the State.