Minister Commissions Osusu Abaala Women Palm-Oil Collective, Launches Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Abia

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to women’s economic empowerment and protection with the commissioning of the Osusu Abaala Women Palm-Oil Collective under the Nigeria for Women Programme in Isialangwa North Local Government Area of Abia State.

The facility was officially declared open by Governor Alex Otti and the First Lady of Abia State, alongside the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, in the presence of members of the Abia State Executive Council, representatives of the World Bank, the European Union, development partners, traditional leaders, and women beneficiaries.

Speaking at the event, the Minister described the commissioning as a significant milestone in rural productivity, inclusive economic development, and structured women’s enterprise.

She noted that the Collective demonstrates how organised women, when supported with structure, skills, and market linkages, can transition from fragmented informal activity into coordinated, market-oriented production systems that strengthen household incomes and local economies.

She explained that the Nigeria for Women Programme was designed to dismantle longstanding structural barriers limiting women’s access to finance, markets, skills, and social capital. Phase I, implemented between 2018 and 2024 across the six geo-political zones, recorded measurable gains in income growth, savings mobilisation, enterprise development, and collective action.

Building on this success, the Federal Government has commenced a national scale-up phase aimed at reaching at least five million women across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as part of a coordinated strategy on livelihoods, food security, and inclusive growth.

The Minister stated that the expansion aligns with the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions, 774 framework, which integrates women’s economic empowerment, food security, social protection, and family resilience across all local government areas nationwide.

She added that the commissioning directly supports the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has positioned women’s economic empowerment as central to national productivity, rural development, and social stability, and declared 2026 as the Year of Social Development and Families.

Governor Otti, while declaring the palm-oil collective open, commended the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and its development partners for deepening grassroots economic inclusion. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policies that enhance productivity, support smallholder women farmers, and strengthen cooperative-based enterprise systems across Abia State.

The Minister urged the women beneficiaries to manage the facility with transparency, discipline, and accountability, stressing that improved processing capacity and stronger market linkages should significantly enhance productivity, bargaining power, and incomes.

She emphasised that structured enterprise and collective ownership remain critical to sustainable prosperity.

In the course of the same visit, the Minister also formally launched a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Abia State, which was jointly declared open by Governor Otti and the First Lady.

The event drew participation from state executives, justice sector actors, civil society organisations, and international partners including the World Bank and the European Union.
Describing the Centre as a strategic intervention to strengthen Nigeria’s response to gender-based violence, the Minister noted that such violence remains pervasive and underreported, increasingly manifesting in both physical and digital forms.

According to her, as of November 2025, Nigeria had established 50 Sexual Assault Referral Centres across 24 states, collectively assisting 58,134 survivors. While acknowledging progress, she stressed that more coordinated systems are needed to match the scale and evolving complexity of the challenge.

The newly launched Centre in Abia State will provide confidential and integrated services, including medical care, psychosocial support, legal referral, and coordinated access to justice within a survivor-centred framework.

She warned that fragmented responses often compound trauma and weaken justice outcomes, underscoring the need for structured and institutionalised protection systems.

The Minister also highlighted emerging threats such as cyberstalking, digital coercion, online trafficking, image-based abuse, and coordinated digital harassment, stating that institutional responses must adapt to address technology-facilitated violence.

Commending Governor Otti, the First Lady, members of the Abia State Executive Council, and development partners for creating an enabling environment for both initiatives, the Minister described the State’s approach as a demonstration of effective sub-national leadership and partnership.

She acknowledged the support of the World Bank and the European Union in strengthening implementation systems and promoting global best practices.

“Silence, stigma, and impunity must no longer define the experience of survivors. Access to justice, care, and protection must become the national standard,” she declared at the launch of the Centre.

She noted that economic empowerment initiatives such as the Osusu Abaala Women Palm-Oil Collective complement protection systems like the Sexual Assault Referral Centre by addressing economic vulnerability, one of the root drivers of gender-based violence.

With the commissioning of the palm-oil facility and the launch of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Abia State is advancing an integrated model of social development where women’s economic inclusion, protection, and family resilience progress side by side under the Renewed Hope Agenda.