Source: All Africa
The National Gender Machinery said it is working hard to guarantee better performance for women outings in future elections, especially the forthcoming Local Government Elections considered critical in laying
a solid foundation towards women political empowerment and decision-making.
A statement from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development says members of the National Gender Machinery under the auspices of the UN Women, and the National Consultative Group on Women and Democratic Governance in Nigeria in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, the UNDP, ActionAid International, the National Planning Commission, Women-focused Development Partners, other Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations, held a National Strategy Meeting yesterday in Abuja to draw a workable road-map towards a better future for Nigerian Women in Politics and decision-making.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Alhaji Idris Kuta said the meeting was held to have a national strategy that will support and strengthen the net-works and coordination efforts at empowering our women for increased participation in politics and governance.
Earlier, Country Director of UN Women, Dr. Grace Ongile, said that in the context of the recently concluded General Elections in Nigeria, there was the need to get "something out of the box" in line with the Transformational Agenda of the present administration.
The meeting which is a project sponsored by the Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) Programme and coordinated by the Programme Officer of UN Women, is aimed at building strong and widespread societal support and net-works for women's participation in Democratic Governance in Nigeria among others.