By Francis Sardauna in Katsina
The Katsina State Government in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has trained and empowered 500 vulnerable women with start-up capital to enhance their businesses across the 34 local government areas of the state.
The state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Rabiatu Mohammed, while unveiling the state government’s scorecard under the ministry to journalists at the Government House, said the vulnerable women were trained in different entrepreneurial skills.
She said: “The state government in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the North-west Entrepreneurship Development Centre (NEDC) has trained and empowered 500 women across the 34 local government areas of the state.”
She explained that the state government was concerned about increasing access to financial services for the economically active poor women to enhance job creation as well as poverty reduction for effective and sufficient business opportunities to thrive in the state.
The commissioner reiterated that in spite of the low amount the state receives from the Federation Account, Governor Aminu Bello Masari’s government had given premium to the empowerment of women and youths irrespective of political affiliations.
She, however, called for greater participation of women in elective positions at state and national levels to ensure gender mainstreaming for sustainable development of Nigerian women.
She said that women formed greater percentage of the voting population in the state, hence the need for stakeholders to involve them in decision-making bodies.
According to her, “We are trying to create awareness for our women to come out en masse and contest in different positions. We have the House of Assembly, Senate and House of Representatives. So, we are going to campaign to our women to come out and contest in 2023 so that we have a delegation from the women in Katsina State.”
