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NCWS tasks women on 2018 International Women Summit

NCWS tasks women on 2018 International Women Summit
Summit
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Nov. 21, 2018 (NAN) The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) on Thursday said the 2018 International Women Development Summit would expose and showcase indigenous products and services to the world.
The National President of the council, Mrs Gloria Shoda, told newsmen in Abuja that women within and outside FCT should take advantage of the programme by participating actively.
Shoda said that the women participation would help to showcase indigenous products and services.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day summit is convened by Prime Unique Women Initiative, an NGO, and powered by Skyehigh Security Safety and Skills in conjunction with the NCWS.
Shoda said the event has been slated for Nov. 26 to Nov. 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The president said that the event was designed to create awareness on government policy as it concerns women, children, family and personal security.
Shoda described women as the fulcrum of micro and small entreprises in the Nigerian economy and Africa in general.
According to her, the summit thus takes cognisance of the various challenges faced by Nigerian women in the areas of business, investment, security, socio-economic growth and sustainability.
Solutions would be proffered to mitigate these problems, she said.
The Convener of the summit, Dr Folake Yobah of the Prime Unique Women Initiative, an NGO, said the organisers and their partners have strategically put together successful local and international resource persons, entrepreneurs and professionals from the public and private sectors.
Yobah assured that the resource persons would bring their wealth of experience and expertise to bear for immense benefit of participants and stakeholders.
She said the summit is themed: ‘Strategic Women Development for Sustainable National Growth and Security.’ (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

ICW: Nigerian Shoda appointed Coordinator

ICW: Nigerian Shoda appointed Coordinator
By Dorcas Jonah
Appointment
Abuja, Sept. 28, 2018 (NAN) Mrs Gloria Shoda, the President, National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), has been appointed as the Coordinator of Social Issues for the International Council of Women (ICW).
This is contained in congratulatory message signed by the National Public Relations Officer of the council, Mrs Safiya Ogoh, on Friday in Abuja.
Ogoh said that the appointment was in recognition of the numerous achievements in repositioning the activities of NCWS in Nigeria, which has been acclaimed by the international community.
According to the spokesperson, the appointment will spur the national president to greater height in pursuing the goals and missions of the council.
She therefore called on Nigerian women and other stakeholders to support the president.
It would be recalled that the 35th General Assembly of ICW which held in Yogyakata, Indonesia, nominated Shoda as the coordinator of the committee.
She was also assigned the responsibility to revive and establish the Regional African Women Council as the coordinator of the implementation committee together with other African women leader.
Ogoh said that a South African was also nominated as secretary of the committee. (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

National devt: NCWS tasks women on unity

National devt: NCWS tasks women on unity
By Dorcas Jonah
Women
Abuja, Sept. 7, 2018 (NAN) The National President, National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), Mrs Gloria Shoda, on Friday advised Nigerian women to be united for the development of the country.
Shoda gave the advised in Abuja at the 60th Anniversary of the council and National Summit on Sustainable Development Goals with the theme: The change Leadership and Gender Balance.
“Let me remind Nigerian women that the cloud of slur and neglect of implementation of gender affirmative agreements and treaties are disruptive war fares made to dis-empower and entrap us perpetually on the disadvantage end.
“We must use whatever positions we find ourselves to refine our positive acumen, heritage of skills, tenacity and ability to recreate the obvious image of servitude in every woman.
“We must, very strongly desist from showing scant regard for each other and conspiring against ourselves,’’ she said.
Shoda said that the council would continue to speak loud on issues of conflict resolution among women.
She said the council was also calling for a bill for an act to amend the Federal Character Commission to give married women the option choice of preferred indigeneship.
Earlier, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sustainable Development Goals said Nigeria was committed to gender concerns.
She said concerted efforts must be made to ensure gender equality and women empowerment are at the centre stage of development in order to advance the Agenda 2030. (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NCWS tasks youths on rebuilding Nigeria

NCWS tasks youths on rebuilding Nigeria
By Dorcas Jonah
Youths
Abuja, July 10, 2018 (NAN) The National President, National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS), Dr Gloria Shoda, has urged Nigerian youths to support the rebuilding process of taking Nigeria to greater heights.
Shoda asked the youths to announce their presence and demonstrate capacities to reposition the country in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
She enjoined them to stay true to the course of innovative thinking towards nation-building.
Speaking ahead of the International Youth Day, Shoda said that the youths have a responsibility not only to themselves but to their communities and the country at large.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Youth Day is marked on Aug. 12, every year.
According to her, Nigeria possesses a huge youthful population that offers so much potential, which must not be wasted but creatively and passionately be diverted into worthwhile patriotic activities to develop the country.
“This is the time for the youth to announce their formidable presence on the nation’s conscience and demonstrate their capacities to be the generation to continue with the baton to take Nigeria to further heights.
“I believe that one of the greatest opportunities made available to the youth of Nigeria to participate in governance were the amendments made to the 1999 Constitution which altered the ages for running for public offices.
“The youth have now been handed a golden opportunity in the civic and political space to vie for public office and they must not let this prospect go under-utilised.
“We often hear the youths agitating about some issues affecting the country, they now have ample opportunities to go in there and drive the process,’’ the NCWS president said.
NAN recalls that Aug. 12 was first set aside as International Youth Day by the United Nations (UN) in 1999 to serve as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change.
It is an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, recently said: “the hopes of the world rest on young people”.
Shoda said she would like Nigeria to benefit immensely from the power of the youths being that they are the country’s dominant demography.
She called for the present leadership in the country to continue to meet the needs of the youths especially in the aspect of education and employment as well as cater for their national aspirations.
On this year’s theme “Safe Spaces for Youth’’, Shoda implored the government to integrate the priorities for youth development into public policy and monitor its implementation.
She said this should be done in the areas of skills-based learning in educational institutions to meet the needs of the labour market.
“The collective energies of the youth can push the nation to new heights especially in the light of the great innovative technologies we have at our disposal,” said the NCWS president.
Shoda also appealed to the political class to embrace and mentor the youth in their communities towards deeper socio-cultural participation so they can activate their full potentials for the benefit of all Nigerians. (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NCWS advises NAPTIP to curb trafficking

NCWS advises NAPTIP to curb trafficking
By Dorcas Jonah
Trafficking
Abuja, July 2, 2018 (NAN) The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to curb human trafficking in the country.
Mrs Gloria Shoda, the National President of NCWS, made the appeal in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.
Shoda advised the agency to ensure that Nigerians, especially women and children, do not fall victims to trafficking of persons currently going on around the world.
According to her, there is no day that we do not see images on our television screens of thousands of youths making the dangerous journey from Libya to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
“So many lives have been lost at sea and many are left to their fate in the hands of criminals.
“Many of our young girls and women are tricked and misled and end up in prostitution on the streets of Europe.
“This heart-rending activity trapping our women into danger and exploitation has to stop. We have to help our young women here at home and train them with skills that will set them up for life,’’ Shoda said.
However, she commended NAPTIP for setting up desks at Nigeria’s international airports to ensure would-be trafficked persons are intercepted before they embark on these ill-fated journeys.
Shoda said sensitisation and public enlightenment efforts should be stepped up to educate the vulnerable against the futility of such journeys and forced labour, sex slavery and prostitution they risk.
“It is quite unfortunate that many of our girls due to lack of information are deceived into thinking that a better fortune awaits them in Europe, fall into the hands of unscrupulous trafficking merchants.
“As we can see in recent weeks, not all Europeans welcome these migrants and asylum-seekers to their countries and their fate hangs now in the balance, subject to politicking.
“We all have a responsibility to be vigilant and contact the relevant agency, in this case NAPTIP, to inform them of any suspicious travel arrangements going on around us.
“The agency’s success depends on adequate information given to them to prevent any of these perilous journeys,’’ she said.
Shoda pledged her continuous support and commitment to the agency’s mandate.
“As a women-oriented organisation, we are naturally concerned because one day it could be our daughters or sisters subjected to ill-treatment in the hands of people smugglers.
“Hence, we are fully aligning ourselves with NAPTIP’s preventive goals,’’ the NCWS president said. (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NCWS demands 35% affirmative action

NCWS demands 35% affirmative action
By Dorcas Jonah
Women
Abuja, June 3, 2018(NAN) The National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) has demanded for the implementation of 35 per cent affirmative action in favour of females in all development national issues.
Dr Gloria Laraba Shoda, the President of NCWS, made the demand in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
“While we appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts at repositioning the country and look forward to a free, fair and inclusive political process in Nigeria come 2019, we urge him to remember the women and give us our 35 per cent.
“Women have the right to participate in political processes that affect us, our families and our societies.
“Countries with increased women’s participation and leadership in civil society and political parties tend to be more inclusive, responsive, egalitarian and democratic.
“When women meaningfully participate in peace processes, they can help to expand the scope of agreements and improve the prospects for durable peace,’’ Shoda said.
She said that strengthening women’s rights and addressing barriers to political participation are critical to achieving gender equality and female empowerment.

However, the NCWS president commended Buhari for signing the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill into law.
NAN recalls that Buhari accented to the bill into law on May 41, in fulfillment of a promise made in his Democracy Day address.
Shoda noted that signing the bill into law was a call to nation building and practical ways the president demonstrated that Nigerian youths could no longer remain spectators.
“The action is a welcome development and a new dawn for our youths to take a centre stage of political activities in the country,’’ she said.
“I congratulate Nigerian youths over the signing into law of the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday,’’ she said. (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

International Women’s Day: NCWS advises FG to address hunger in Nigeria

International Women’s Day: NCWS urges FG to address hunger in Nigeria
NAN-H-9
Women
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, March 7, 2018 (NAN) The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) has called on the Federal Government to take adequate steps in addressing the rights of women and hunger in the country.
Mrs Gloria Shoda, the President of NCWS, made the appeal in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja to mark the 2018 International Women’s Day activities.
According to her, this year’s event, to be celebrated on March 8, will afford women the opportunity to address issues bordering on their plight especially the rural women.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the celebration is a global event that talks about women’s achievements from politics to social, including gender equality.
The day has been observed since the early 1900s and is now marked each year on March 8.
It is however not affiliated with any particular group, but brings together governments, women organisations, corporations and charities.
Activities to mark the day include arts performances, talks, rallies, networking events, conferences and march pass.
Shoda said that this year’s theme: “Time is Now: Rural and Urban activists transforming women’s lives”, was apt and timely.
According to her, there is no better time to address the hunger faced by women in this country than now.
“The council wants to use this day to draw the Federal Government’s attention to the suffering that the Nigerian woman goes through as a result of the hardship, insecurity and gender disparities in the country.
“We are faced with a situation where women go through a lot to be able to feed their families.
“This is because things are getting harder everyday and the prices of goods and services are on the increase and out of the reach of the common woman.
“Government should as a matter of urgency pass every bill that is related to women as well as look into policies that will better the living standard of the women.
“The rights and privileges of the women should be made paramount as government makes and execute her policies,’’ she said.
Shoda said that the day was an opportunity to transform this momentum into action, to empower women in various skill acquisition programmes.
She said the day was also to celebrate the activists who are working relentlessly to demand for women’s rights to enable them realise their full potential.
Shoda said the rights of rural women, who make up a quarter of the world population and the 43 per cent of women in the global agricultural labour force, according to UN reports.
“Our women cultivate the lands and plant seeds to feed nations, ensure food security for their communities and build climate resilience.
“Yet on almost every measure of development, the rural women fare worse than rural men or urban women because of deep seated gender inequalities and discrimination.
“The UN reports that less than 20 per cent of landholders worldwide are women.
“While the global pay gap between men and women stand at 23 per cent, in rural areas, it can be as high as 40 per cent in some cases,’’ she said.
According to her, “this is because they lack infrastructure and services, decent work and social protection, and are left more vulnerable to the effects of climate change”.
Shoda said that to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (MGDs) a reality, there was the need for urgent action in rural areas to ensure adequate standard of living.
According to her, a life free of hunger, violence and harmful practices for rural women and nutrition, decent work, education and health, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
She called on stakeholders to support the effort of the NCWS in ensuring better life for women, adding that the organisation as the umbrella body of women cannot do it alone.
The NCWS president said that the council had embarked on empowerment programmes, granting soft loans to women through the Bank of Industry to improve their lives.
Shoda said that the time to act is now to free women from all unnecessary hardship and torture. (NAN)
DE/JIE/MST
Edited by Julius Enehikhuere/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

NCWS solicits Speaker’s support for National Unity Summit

NAN-H-86
Summit
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, March 1, 2018 (NAN) The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) on Thursday solicited the support of the House of Representatives’ Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, in holding a National Summit on security.

Mrs Gloria Shoda, the President of NCWS, during a visit by the Council’s national officers to Dogara in Abuja, said the summit aims to help in addressing security challenges in Nigeria.

She said the purpose of the summit was to bring major interest and pressure groups to a forum to strategise on ways to foster national unity and progress.

“We appeal to you to use your good office to spearhead this summit and make it a very successful outing that will strengthen the pillars that hold Nigeria together for peace, unity and progress.

“We assure you of our support in your determination to develop your state and build a new Nigeria. History will be kind to you when the story of the development of Nigeria is told,’’ she said.

Shoda said the summit would be a Pan-Nigeria Summit on how to mobilise the country’s potential for national peace, unity and progress.

She commended the Speaker for his disposition to building bridges of unity cooperation and understanding across the ethnic, religious and political divides that make up Nigeria.

Responding, Dogara promised to make the summit a success and pledged his continuous support for the Council.

“The House has done well in promoting women issue. In any nation where you see the woman falling, it is because there is no strength in men.

“We are committed to not just gender issues but I believe in the saying that if you educate a woman you educate a nation.

“But if you educate a man, it is like you have educated an individual.

“Likewise, if a woman is empowered, the ripple effect can reach the entire community, while in most cases, if it is a man, it is an individual,’’ he said.

Dogara said the House of Representatives was aware of the pains, burden and struggle that is associated with the Nigeria woman.

“We will do everything within our legislative powers to ensure that government continues to adopt measures or policies that will lessen the burden on our mothers.’’

On the Citizenship and Responsibility Bill, Dogara expressed the hope that President Muhammadu Buhari would soon give it his assent.

The Speaker condemned the kidnapping and adoption of some school girls in Dapchi, Yobe.

“It is unfortunate that it is happening again. I urge the military to stop the blame game and accept responsibility for what has happened.

“It is only in accepting responsibility for what has happened that we will be able to find a solution,’’ he said.

Dogara however assured that government would stop at nothing to ensure the return of the girls.(NAN)
DE/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Health

NCWS wants holistic restructuring of Nigeria

NCWS wants holistic restructuring of Nigeria
NAN-HG-6
Restructuring
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, Feb. 9, 2018 (NAN) The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) on Friday advised the Federal Government to take a holistic approach in its programme in restructuring Nigeria.
The President of the council, Mrs Gloria Shoda, said in a statement that Nigerian women support the proposed restructuring of the country by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
However, she said the restructuring should `wear a human face’ with gender sensitivity.
She noted that the issue of restructuring was not new in the country, adding that it has been with us as a nation for a long time.
It would be recalled that in the 50s women championed the issue of restructuring and brought it to the front burner in Nigeria.
Shoda said that women from all walks of life would come together to lend their voices in the advancement of Nigerian governance through the restructuring agenda.
“We will gather all the women from the local government to the state and national levels to deliberate on the issue and come up with our position.
“We want to have a say in the restructuring of Nigeria, it is not going to be an all men affair as usual.

“We need to bring in our own perspectives to the discussion. As Nigerian women, we want this country to be restructured if we must survive as a nation,’’ she said.
Shoda said that Nigerian women would look at different issues that have been raised on restructuring from different angles before taking a position. (NAN)
DE/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

NCWS tasks women to embrace govt empowerment programmes

NCWS tasks women to embrace govt empowerment programmes
NAN-HG-5
Women
By Muhammad Adam
Yola, Oct. 9, 2017 (NAN) The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has advised women to embrace government empowerment programmes.
The Vice President of the association in Adamawa, Mrs Rebecca Kwabe, gave the advice on Monday in Yola in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Kwabe said that the call became necessary in order to bridge the gap of women participation in most government programmes such as anchor borrowers, poverty alleviation and skills acquisition trainings.
She observed that between 60 to 70 per cent of women in the state were farmers and in need of government attention particularly in areas of empowerment opportunities.
“As mothers and community managers, we need more participation in government empowerment programmes; empowering a woman is like empowering the whole society,” Kwabe said.
She said the council would embark on sensitisation campaign across the 21 local government areas of the state to mobilise its members.
On drug abused, she said that the situation was becoming a source of serious concern with the increase women involvement.
She explained that the association was educating parents, especially mothers on how to protect, deal and control the menace among young women. (NAN)
AMA/YMU/MST
Edited by Yakubu Uba/Muhammad Suleiman Tola