… To liaise with NUJ FCT on women’s development

The Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development (MBNCWD) has urged Nigerian women to mobilise a 10-million-woman voting bloc ahead of the 2027 general elections.

This is as the Centre said it is seeking special intervention funding to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities at its facility in Abuja, as it steps up efforts to promote inclusion in women’s development.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, made the call during a joint media briefing with the Chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, at the Centre in Abuja.

The engagement coincided with the Centre’s 34th anniversary and was aimed at establishing a sustained partnership to promote women’s empowerment, inclusion and participation in national development.

Benjamins-Laniyi said women needed to look beyond political party affiliations, ethnic differences, religious beliefs and social status to pursue common interests and secure commitments from political candidates.

Benjamins-Laniyi said the proposed voting bloc would bring women together across the country’s 774 local government areas to strengthen their bargaining power in the political process.

“Ten million women isn’t just about women in one party. It’s women across partisan lines, tribal lines, religious lines, class delineations and social structures coming together through the 774 architecture of Nigeria’s local government landscape,” she said.

According to her, women could use their numerical strength to demand accountability from political candidates and negotiate commitments on policies and programmes that promote equity, diversity and inclusion.

“We may not yet have the seats, but we can have a transaction, a model of engagement with this present political campaign design, where 10 million women as a bloc vote are,” she said.

On the proposed special intervention fund, Benjamins-Laniyi said the proposed funding would support modifications to the existing women centre building to make it more accessible, particularly to women with disabilities.

According to her, the request would be presented to the Minister of Finance and the National Assembly through the Ministry of Women Affairs.

“We don’t need to rebuild anything; we have a beautiful building, but it needs accessibility,” she said.

The Director-General explained that inclusion remained a priority of her administration, covering physical access, digital and information technology inclusion, gender-responsive budgeting and affirmative procurement.

On the proposed partnership with the NUJ FCT Council, she called for a formal framework to guide collaboration, regular public conversations on women’s issues, capacity-building for journalists and measurable outcomes.

Benjamins-Laniyi also commended the NUJ FCT Council Chairperson, Comrade Grace Ike, for her contributions to women’s development and said she would be recognised in the Nigerian Women Hall of Fame for her work in advancing women’s interests.

She said the recognition would celebrate Ike’s efforts to promote women’s participation, leadership and inclusion, while inspiring younger generations of women to contribute to national development.

Earlier, Ike said the council was ready to partner with the Centre to ensure that women’s contributions to national development received sustained media attention.

Ike said many Nigerian women had helped shape the country’s economy, culture, families and democracy, but their contributions remained undocumented or inadequately represented in the national narrative.

She said the media had a responsibility to amplify women’s voices, highlight their achievements and report barriers to their participation in leadership, economic empowerment and professional advancement.

The NUJ chairperson proposed regular features on women’s leadership, enterprise and innovation, intergenerational dialogues involving veteran women leaders and young girls, and inclusive coverage of rural women, women in informal employment and women with disabilities.

She also called for joint training programmes to strengthen journalists’ capacity for ethical, gender-sensitive and development-focused reporting.

Ike said the council would designate a liaison to coordinate engagement with the Centre and commit to regular reporting on women’s contributions and the implementation of policies affecting them.