Kwara State House of Assembly Pledges Committment to Girl-child Empowerment

The Kwara State House of Assembly has pledged  their commitment to empowering the girl-child in the State.

This comes as the lawmakers joined the United Nations to mark the International Day of the Girl Child

The lawmakers made the pledge in a statement signed by the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu.

“We pledge our renewed commitment to continue to empower the girl child so that they can continue to break barriers, scale hurdles and shatter glass ceilings to make us proud by contributing to the development of our state, the statement added.” The Speaker said.

He stated that the House was commemorating the day as ,“ It is a special day set aside to celebrate the strength, resilience, and potential of the girl child worldwide.”

Homage
The lawmakers also paid homage to Hajia Raliatu AbdulRazaq, a nonagenarian who is the mother of the State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Hajia AbdulRazaq who is the founder of the Raliat Foundation, a household name in philanthropy in Kwara state is the first female councillor in Kwara and she was described as a reference point for every girl child.

“We also wish to mark this symbolic day by formally acknowledging and honoring the pioneering role of girl-child education in Kwara by  Hajia Raliatu AbdulRazaq, a nonagenarian and the first female councillor in Kwara, whose life remains a reference point for every girl child.” the lawmakers stated.

Hajia AbdulRazaq was said to have influenced her son, Governor Abdulrazaq  whose policies are focused on gender inclusion with Kwara having the highest number of female cabinet members in Nigeria.

“It is not surprising that her son,  Mallam  AbdulRazaq  has been inspired by this Heroine of the Girl Child through his policies and programs that are tailored towards the empowerment of womenfolk especially the Political Offices (Gender Composition) Bill of 2021.

“Today, Kwara state currently has the highest female cabinet members in the country and just recently, 15 of the 16 Kwara Local Government Councils elected Vice Chairmen are all women,” the Speaker declared.

Confidence Okwuchi