Lara Adejoro
Engendering strengthened economic empowerment interventions in Nigeria will help to elevate the status of women, stakeholders have averred.
They noted that harmonising and validating indicators for women’s economic empowerment policy, and action plans are blueprints that will make impact.
The stakeholders made the call on Thursday at the Harmonisation and Validation Workshop on WEE Indicators, Action Plan and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework organised by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies and the Development Research and Policy Centre.
In his keynote address, the Director General of NIPSS, Prof Ayo Omotayo said the national WEE policy document has great potential to chart a path for transitioning women from having limited economic power, voice, and choice to acquiring skill opportunities.
The NIPSS DG, who was represented by the institute’s acting Director of Research, Dr Musa Umar said, “As we harmonise and validate the indicators in the WEE policy, action plan, and Monitoring and Evaluation framework, I want to urge you to consider the efficiency, effectiveness, and relevance of the WEE policy.
“I also urge you to consider the sustainability of WEE intervention results, the level of stakeholders and beneficiaries’ satisfaction with the results, and whether the policy frameworks are effective to achieve maximum impact.”
The Executive Director of dRPC, Dr Judith-Ann Walker, said empowering women economically will not only improve individual lives but also drive sustainable development, bolster economic growth, and strengthen families and communities.
Represented by the Project Director of dRPC, Dr Stanley Ukpai, she said there is a need to commit to the validation process and ensure that every indicator agreed upon is practically applicable.
“We must ensure that our M&E framework can withstand the scrutiny of implementation, delivering data that is reliable, timely, and actionable.
“Let us envision a future where the economic empowerment of women is not an aspiration but a realised fact, where our daughters have equal opportunities to thrive, and where our collective efforts have laid the groundwork for an inclusive and prosperous nation,” she stated.
The Director, National Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Olasumbo Ayinde-Yakub, urged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of monitoring and evaluating policies.
He said, “We have so many indicators around the pillars on agriculture, entrepreneurship, technology and other indicators tracking women and monitoring that they are efficient, supported and getting what is needed to be economically empowered in all sectors.
“Institutionalising M&E is of benefit to every Nigerian, including the government and the citizens. So we should take it with all seriousness.”
On her part, the Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Women Affairs, Fatima Faruk, who was represented by Mariam Abdullahi urged the stakeholders to ensure women at the grassroots are carried along when implementing policies.
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