Women leaders in Ondo State have reviewed the performance of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration in its first 18 months, highlighting developments in pensions, healthcare, education, employment and women’s representation in government.
The assessment was made at a one-day capacity-building workshop and retreat organised by the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development held in Ondo Town, with about 150 participants in attendance.
The event brought together female permanent secretaries, heads of government agencies and parastatals, women political leaders and female chairmen of boards to examine their roles and contributions to the administration.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Oluwaseun Osamaye, said the ministry’s interventions had been targeted at different categories of women, noting that their circumstances and needs varied.
She cited the Ibi-Irorun programme for pregnant women, cash grants for widows, medical outreaches and other interventions as some of the programmes implemented by the ministry.
Osamaye also drew attention to the number of women occupying senior administrative positions, disclosing that 16 female permanent secretaries attended the programme. She described the figure as the highest number of female permanent secretaries recorded under any administration in the state.
”When the Governor came on board, he had an agenda to empower women to also make them self-reliant. What we are doing today is to come together as leaders of different organisations to see how far we have assisted the Governor in actualising all of his dreams for women and then again to recharge ourselves and recommit ourselves to the responsibilities that we have in our hands, especially to ensure that women of the state continue to enjoy this government,” she said.
The guest speaker, Prof. Bridget Itunu Awoshika of the Adeyemi Federal University of Education, gave the administration 18 out of 20 in her personal assessment of its performance under the OUR EASE agenda in the last 18 months.
Awoshika said her assessment covered pension payments, healthcare, education, employment and women’s participation in governance, recalling that residents previously faced difficulties accessing specialised medical services in the state.
“Personally, I scored government 18 points over 20 because it has never been this good. There are a lot of unprecedented success stories like paying pensioners,” she said.
She also cited the reported employment of about 6,000 people within the 18-month period as another development she considered significant, while noting that women had also witnessed improved representation in political and administrative positions.
However, Awoshika urged women to complement government interventions by developing skills and creating additional sources of income.
“My advice to our women is that we shouldn’t stop. We must keep forging ahead and improving ourselves. Everybody should acquire skills so that we can have more than one single source of income,” she said.
One of the participants, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mrs Foluke Daramola, said the gathering provided an opportunity for female leaders in government and politics to exchange ideas and discuss issues affecting women across the state.
Daramola said the participants could use the knowledge and contacts gained from the programme to develop policies and mentor younger women who would take up leadership responsibilities in the future.
“When you have such a diverse collection of women together, we do a lot of networking and share ideas. We could even come up with policies for our women in Ondo State and mentor those coming after us,” she said.
