…as 150 women leaders assess Aiyedatiwa’s performance
Women leaders in Ondo State have called for sustained gender inclusion in governance, urging the government to consolidate its gains in promoting women’s participation in political and administrative leadership.
The women made the call at a one-day leadership empowerment retreat organized by the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development at Nibanola Motherland Resorts and Golf, Ondo town, in the Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.
They urged the government to sustain its appointment of women to strategic positions through deliberate policies that would promote greater participation in decision-making and public administration.
According to them, increased representation of women in leadership would promote fairness, bring diverse perspectives to governance, and ensure that issues affecting women and families receive adequate attention.
They also stressed the need for continuous investment in leadership development, mentorship, skills acquisition, and economic empowerment to enable more women to attain positions of responsibility and perform effectively.
Speaking during the retreat, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Oluwaseun Osamaye, said the program was organised to strengthen the capacity of women in leadership and deepen their contribution to the state’s governance agenda.
Osamaye said the event was designed to enable women leaders to reassess their responsibilities, share experiences, and renew their commitment to effective service delivery.
“This capacity-building workshop is to harness and reassess our shared commitments and unity of purpose, especially towards actualizing the agenda of the governor,” she said.
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The commissioner disclosed that the state currently has 16 female permanent secretaries, describing the figure as the highest recorded under any administration in the state.
“Today, we have 16 female permanent secretaries seated in this auditorium. That’s the highest number of female permanent secretaries under any administration,” she said.
Osamaye also said the ministry had adopted different interventions to address the varying needs of women across the state, stressing that there was no “one-size-fits-all” approach to women’s empowerment.
She listed the Ibi-Irorun program for pregnant women, cash grants for widows, medical outreaches, and other social interventions among programs being implemented by the ministry.
“Women do not have a one-fit-all approach. There are different categories of women, and what they need differs,” she said.
Delivering the keynote address, Professor Bridget Itunu Awoshika of Adeyemi Federal University of Education scored the Aiyedatiwa administration 18 out of 20 in her personal assessment of its EASE Agenda over the last 18 months.
Awoshika based her assessment on developments in healthcare, education, employment, pension payments, and women’s participation in governance, among other areas.
“Personally, I scored government 18 points over 20 because it has never been this good,” she said.
She described the administration’s achievements in areas including pension payments and the reported employment of about 6,000 people within the period as unprecedented.
She particularly commended the administration’s approach to gender inclusion, saying women had witnessed improved representation in political and administrative positions.
“It has never been this good. This governor has decided to give fair share opportunities to the feminine gender,” Awoshika said.
She, however, urged women to complement government’s interventions by investing in skills acquisition, education, entrepreneurship and continuous self-development, stressing that economic independence remained critical to reducing poverty.
“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.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Mrs Foluke Daramola, said the retreat provided an opportunity for women leaders to network, exchange ideas and develop strategies for addressing issues affecting women.
Daramola said participants would also be expected to transfer the knowledge gained from the retreat to their various workplaces through mentorship and coaching of younger women.
“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.
She added that mentoring younger women was necessary to ensure a smooth transition of leadership and prepare the next generation of women to take up responsibilities with greater confidence and competence.
The retreat ended with renewed calls for sustained investment in women’s capacity development, economic empowerment, and inclusion in governance as the state continues to implement its development agenda.