A former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Akwagaga Lelegima Enyia, has charged women to step-up and start doing things that will enable them create value in the society.
She noted that the current prevailing situation in the country does not require people, especially women who wait for things to be done.
According to the ex-NDDC boss, empowering women and women empowering themselves is essential for social economic development, adding that, ‘this is no longer time to be spectators, everybody must be active, work and create value.”
Akwagaga gave the charge at the weekend in Port Harcourt while addressing women and girls at the Advancing Women In Business (ADWIB) programme, in commemoration of the International Women’s Day (IWD).
She said women empowerment accelerates growth and development in every facet of the economy, which will in turn, lead to speedy progress.
She said: “In our world today, if we must experience real progress, economic growth and development and eventual national growth then, young ladies and women must be equipped, trained and empowered.”
Similarly, the president of ADWIB, Mrs. Josephine Itonyo, noted that there are so many potentials in women that when properly harnessed, would transform the society for better. She urged the women to remain firm and resilient in the pursuit of their goals.
Ann Godwin, the South-South Acting Bureau Chief of The Guardian, who was also a guest speaker, said the narratives of women being relegated at the backstage is changing over time. She stressed that women are now more intentional towards playing significant roles that is changing the nation’s political, economic and social cultural space and contributing significantly to nation building.
She, therefore, called for public and private investments in programmes that will end violence against women and drive women’s inclusion towards nation building.
On her part, Dr. Ijeoma Tubosia, a broadcast journalist with Radio Rivers, Port Harcourt, urged women to learn multiple skills to enable them to become more relevant and financially viable in the present economic environment.
