Minister at Sokoto forum tasks participants over women, children development

By Muhammad A.Yahuza, Sokoto

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Alhassan, has made a case for the need to find ways of solving some of the problems facing women, children vulnerable people in the country.

The minister, who was represented by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Ifeoma Anagbogu, made the case while declaring open a five-day meeting of the 17th Regular National Council on Women Affairs and Social Development holding at Giginya Coral Hotel Sokoto, on Tuesday.

Speaking further at the meeting, organized by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, with a theme, “Peaceful Society and Social Investment a Frontier Approach to Sustainable development”, the Senator Alhassan described the meeting as very significant, considering the unsatisfactory conditions of women, children as well as vulnerable ones among the society, currently.

According to her the challenges being faced by this group of people are sympathetic because of lack of awareness of their health, economic status and educational level.

She pointed out that it was in this regard that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had found it necessary to take drastic measures, aimed at ensuring that the said category of people were enlightened and trained in various skills acquisition to enable them become self reliant.

She stated further that the importance of the National Regular Council meeting which, according to her, could not be over emphasized, was to create a platform on which issues critical to total wellbeing of women, children, old people, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable ones in the society were discussed with a view to formulating policies and initiate programmes for their development.

In rounding up the minister’s speech, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Ifeoma Anagbogu, commended the Sokoto State Government for hosting and ensuring that the meeting became a reality.

In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Sokoto State Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Barrister Aisha Muhammad Dantsoho, pointed out that the meeting came at a right time that the need was ripe to chart course of addressing issues concerning women, children and special people, and move on thereafter to develop means of improving their lives and enhancing the socio-economy of their wellbeing.

Barrister Dantsoho called on the participants to contribute immensely to the deliberation as to achieve success hoping that at the end of the deliberations, a unified voice to carry and channel a head for the development of the country would be arrived at.