Governor El-Rufai pledges to appoint more women in government

Gov. of Kaduna State on Thursday pledged to appoint more women into his government.


El-Rufai made the pledge in Kaduna at the 2nd Women Economic Empowerment Summit, with the theme: Enabling access and participation; Linking women to Resources.


The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the governor had already appointed three women as commissioners, while the state Head of Service is also a woman.

El-Rufai said his administration appreciates the important role women play in the development of the state.

He urged the women to develop a road map to guide the government in addressing the challenges facing them.


According to him, the government had established gender desk in all Ministries Departments and Agencies in the state to address women issues.

He announced that the government plans to set up the Kaduna State Peace Commission and would appoint a woman as Executive Vice Chairman.

NAN reports that the bill to establish the Peace  Commission is currently before the state House of Assembly awaiting approval.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba said the success of the first women summit informed the hosting of another one to tackle challenges already identified.

"The ministry believes that access to timely information is of great importance to women businesses and empowerment.

"The summit is planned to explore knowledge, information technology and social linkages to enable women participate as full and informed players in the business environment.

"We have deliberately invited men and women from different professions and sectors to this summit to advise us on various areas we can work together for gender mainstreaming and social inclusion in our dear state, ” Baba said.

The commissioner commended development partners and advocacy groups that facilitated the summit.

NAN reports that the summit was supported by Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for Better Business Environment (ENABLE2), Synagos Nigeria,  UNILEVER and Power Oil.

Meanwhile, the summit has set up eight syndicate groups to develop roadmap to tackle gender challenges from different business sectors including Agriculture, Education, Health, Governance, Commerce, Security and ICT.