General
Source: ThisDay Live
President Goodluck Jonathan has been commended for his commitment and efforts at promoting the welfare of Nigerian women.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, in a statement issued Wednesday, by the Publicity and Information Manager of the ministry, Mr. Kelvin Allanso, on the recent book launch in Abuja, titled: 'Goodluck Ebele Jonathan: Champion for Women,' stated that over the past two years, Jonathan had appointed over 30 per cent of the women to top positions in government and also put in place programmes and initiatives to help some of the country's poorest women.
She said it was commendable that the president had fulfilled his promise in the area of empowering, protecting and creating more opportunities for women in Nigeria.
According to her, the recently directive to get more women appointed to the boards of federal parastatals, a move the presidency hopes states and local governments will emulate, is quite laudable as "it will transform Nigeria in a way that has never been done before."
The statement added that the book, 'Champion for Women', inspected some of the many accomplishments of President Jonathan and his administration, and "celebrates the growing power and opportunities for Nigerian women."
Commenting on the book, the statement quoted Alison-Madueke as saying: "When Jonathan became president with the people's mandate in May 2011, the process of change he had begun the previous year moved into a higher gear.
"As well as promising to deliver economic transformation, his campaign commitments including empowering, protecting and creating more opportunities for women, for the first time in Nigerian history, Jonathan gave over 30 per cent of political appointments to women.
"Whilst it may take a while to achieve all the economic objectives, he wasted no time in fulfilling his promise.
"Therefore inaugurating this book is an opportunity for me not only to express my sincere thanks to our president but also to show, concisely, his robust and comprehensive articulation of the gender issue, in his historic and groundbreaking appointments of such a high proportion of women to his government."
The minister further stated that President Jonathan was now setting an example for the country that best results come from committed people irrespective of their gender or status.
She said women we're critical to the achievement of Nigeria's leadership quest in Africa and Jonathan's government had acted accordingly.
"This is, indeed, not just historic, but something special in the history of Nigeria. Half of the world's population is female, but the international average of women in elected office is only around 20 per cent. Look at the top office holders, and the figure is lower still; in Nigeria, however, one in three members of the federal executive cabinet is a woman. It is a fact of which all Nigerians, male and female, can be justly proud.
"And this is not just about 'jobs for the girls'- there is much more here than just making up the numbers," the statement quoted the minister.
The statement recalled that President Jonathan's affirmative action, sought higher representation of women - at least, 35 per cent in public offices.
"Today, it's worthy of note that apart from the 13 female ministers, Mr. President currently works with many female special assistants, advisers, ambassadors and directors. Indeed, the Jonathan administration is the only administration in the history of Nigeria that has scored very high marks on the empowerment of women," the minister noted.
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke