Sanwo-Olu says Lagos transformation not complete without women

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, said that the account of Lagos State’s journey to a cosmopolitan society would not be fully told without chronicling the contributions made by women to its cultural growth and socio-economic transformation.

Sanwo-Olu gave the acknowledgement at a forum tagged “WAPA Connect,” organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation at Lagos Continental Hotel with the theme: “The Emerging Total Woman.”

Lagos State, the governor said, presents a unique social structure distinct from other parts, given the unique influence of women in positions of authority. Their impacts, he said, had elevated the status of the state to a society where women take full pride.

Sanwo-Olu said the event’s theme was to address the changing dynamics driven by the new thinking of the 21st Century, as well as preparing women for contemporary challenges they needed to overcome.

The governor said the conference was initiated in pursuance of his administration’s avowed commitment to the policy of inclusiveness and emancipation of women.

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had been pulling down barriers of inequality against the women and initiating policies to make the state become a society where women needed no permission before taking their rightful positions as progress partners.

The state government, he said, had demonstrated its commitment in the appointment of women as key drivers of public policies and programmes.

The governor said that women make up 65 per cent of permanent secretaries, 60 per cent of judges and 50 per cent of agencies’ heads.

On his part, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Bolaji Dada, said women’s roles in shaping the society across social, economic and political levels were vital, noting that empowerment of women remained pertinent for the achievement of United Nations’ 2030 agenda on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She said millions of women across the country had endured abject poverty because of the economic inequality and lack of requisite skills to survive in a modernised economy.

Also, the First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, said the prevailing economic situation posed serious challenges to many women. She called for more socio-economic opportunities for women.

She said: “Bringing more women out of the prevailing socio-economic situations will give them more freedom to improve their livelihood and contribute their quota towards growth of the state.”

This would place Lagos on equal pedestal with societies where women flourish.”