Wife of the Nigerian President, Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, has been made the Global Grant Patron of Nigeria-Morocco Businesswomen Summit in recognition of her commitment to uplift the living standards of women and children.
She was decorated to that effect during the maiden edition of the Nigeria-Morocco Businesswomen Summit in Marrakech, Morocco, on Wednesday 15th November, 2017.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by her Director of Information Suleiman Haruna, copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, Mrs Buhari was said to have been represented at the event by Mrs Gimbiya Dogara, Wife of the Speaker of Nigerian House of Representatives.
In her acceptance speech, Mrs Buhari said her passion for improving the lives of women and children was the reason she organized medical outreach programmes, skill acquisition sessions, women empowerment programmes as well as advocacy for the rights of women and the girl child in Nigeria.
These initiatives, she said, are the contributions she is making to ensure that the future of women and children is assured, which was why, according to her, she named her pet project “Future Assured”.
Speaking on the Summit, Mrs Buhari said “it provides an opportunity for business women from the two countries to take advantage of opportunities and called on the women to support each other and contribute to the economic development of their countries.”
Explaining the rationale for honouring Mrs Buhari, Mr. Hassan Lahlou, Chairman of the award event, said Mrs Buhari’s efforts at empowering women had been widely recognized and should be encouraged.
He said thousands of women had become self-reliant by learning vocational skills, courtesy of her Future Assured Programme.
Speaking on the reason for the summit, Mr. Lahlou said “it is meant to establish Nigeria-Morocco Business Women Forum in order to strengthen business relationship between women of the two countries.”
The summit provided an opportunity to connect, share, collaborate and make plans on how to invest, grow, and develop women’s businesses both in small and large scale.
An exhibition was held to display products from Nigeria and Morocco.
At the event were wives of governors, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Dr. Hajo Sani and Director-General, National Center for Women Development, Barrister Mary Etta.
