The Minister of Women Affairs Mrs Paulen Tallen has
applauded Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for his consistent
promotion of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in the state.
"As an ambassador for women advancement and a
worthy HEforSHE Champion, your passion for gender balance and equity in recent
appointment of 12 female permanent secretaries cannot be overemphasised,"
Tallen said in a commendation letter to the Governor.
"Nigerian women immensely appreciate you for
further justifying the confidence reposed in you and your award as a 'HEforSHE
Governor and Social Investment Champion' at the National Council of Women
Affairs held in 2019, Akure, Ondo State.
"I write on behalf of the Management and staff of
the Ministry to once again commend and appreciate your Excellency for
demonstrating yet another feat on promotion of Gender Equality and Women
Empowerment and for making Kwara State a model for other states to emulate.
Nigerian women are indeed proud of you and your kind gestures.”
The Women Affairs Minister had in 2019 commended
AbdulRazaq over the appointment of more women into his cabinet describing the
Kwara State’s gender-friendly cabinet as “a dream come true in fulfilment of
the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerian women overtime.”
The More Women Group (MWG), an amalgam of 169 women
bodies across the country, had also praised AbdulRazaq for breaking the yoke of
poor representation of women and youths in governance.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (UN Women) had similarly commended the Governor, calling
Kwara under him a ‘role model for other states in Nigeria.’
“This bold and significant decision sets Kwara State
apart, as a role model for other states in Nigeria, in upholding regional and
globally agreed standards to promote the full and equal participation of women
in all political and decision making processes,” UN Women Representative to
Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Comfort Lamptey had said in a letter to the Governor.
AbdulRazaq’s appointment of 12 female permanent
secretaries is the highest in the history of Kwara State.
The Governor is the first political leader at national
or subnational government’s levels in Africa to have set up a cabinet with
56.25% women members. The closest to it were the Rwandan and Ugandan
governments’ cabinets that each comprise 50 percent women.
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