.…President Buhari Committed To 35 Percent Representation For Women-Ekpere-Eta
Director-General of the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Mrs. Mary Ekpere-Eta, on Monday announced that a new set of female trailblazers will be inducted into the highly prestigious Nigerian Women Hall of Fame.
The event scheduled for Monday June 10 will have the Her Excellency, the Wife of the President, Dr. Aisha Buhari as Special Guest of Honour.
Speaking a media conference on the forthcoming event, Ekpere-Eta said, the new inductees emerged from a rigorous process, which also included research on women with career firsts and other landmark achievements which set apart those who will join a long list of other female achievers in the Hall of Fame.
The NCWD Director-General stressed the importance of honouring outstanding women as it promotes meritocracy, even as it will greatly inspire many more young women to aspire reach for the very top.
She also told journalists that the event will feature the official unveiling of the photograph and induction of the Wife of the President, Dr. Aisha Buhari in the second coming of the Buhari Administration in upholding the tradition of the Centre of keeping records of the wives of Heads of State and Presidents of the country.
She said: “Most of you may want to ask why a Nigerian Women Hall of Fame? My response is that available statistics reveal that Nigerian women have always been dynamic, playing active roles in literally all spheres of development. Yet their achievements were hardly documented.
“This explains the rationale behind the creation of this highly prestigious edifice for the enrichment of public understanding and appreciation of the diverse contributions Nigerian women make to society. The goal is to establish the unique and immense productive capacities of women and make their works and achievements more visible in national development records”.
“The Nigerian Women Hall of Fame currently features a comprehensive display of records of women in pre-colonial days in the form of pictures, plaques, artifacts and memorabilia of those who played legendary roles in trade and commerce, politics and inter-tribal wars, etc. So also are records of contemporary Nigerian women who are playing leading roles in different aspects of the Nigerian society.
“We are confident that this will help to project women as active contributors in National development. In effect, development programmes will be viewed in their true perspective as fundamental to harness the full potentials of women as equitable partners in development.
“The Hall of Fame also provides role models for younger girls and the society at large on the unlimited potentials of women in the Nigerian society”, she further said.
The criteria for selection of inductees into the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame are: First Woman, historic or living to achieve recognition in the field of endeavor or a lifetime of achievement in that field. A significant statewide contribution to arts, athletics, business, government, philanthropy humanities, science and education, etc, and the enduring value of her achievement and lasting importance of such contribution.
Responding to questions from journalists on the demands from women for the second term of President Buhari, Ekpere-Eta said women are looking up to the President to make the much sought 35 percent representation for women in government a reality.
“We want economic growth, sustainable development and peace. But also important to us is the appointment of women into office in order for Nigeria to achieve 35 percent representation for women in government.
“President Buhari stated his support for 35 percent female representation during the 2018 Female Aspirants Summit organized by the office of the Wife of the President and the NCWD . I know that he is a man of his words. Our President someone who keeps to his words and therefore can be looked upon to bringing in the right number of qualified women into public office. It is even more important to us as women didn’t post a good showing at the polls”, she said.
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