The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, at the weekend said the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, will give full support to any genuine organisation that is aiding development of women in the agricultural sector.
She gave this assurance when she attended the special dinner and official launch of Arise Women Farmers Foundation at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, organised by Dr. Siju Iluyomade’s Arise Women initiative, a faith-based non-governmental organization.
Held on Friday 29th November 2019, the event which witnessed attendance of wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, ably represented by former first lady of Zamfara, Hajia Asmau Abdul-Azeez Yari, was also to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the NGO. Speaking at the event, Tallen, who expressed joy over the compassion displayed by Iluyomade and her team in giving support to rural women in particular through the farming initiative said no woman should go to bed hungry.
“When you empower a woman, you have empowered the whole family. I have great trust in women. All the loans given to women have been paid back. Women are better managers. I have met the people in charge of fertilizers and they have assured me of support to my ministry, we will make it available together with loans for farmers in the foundation because I have followed the tremendous empowerment and support Arise has given women both in Lagos and Abuja in the last 11years with over 10,000 lives touched” she said.
In her own contribution, Hajia Yari said the wife of the president was thrilled by the enormous spirit put into this course by Arise Women. “She has often said her passion to always put any issue that concern women in front burner is undaunted, and she said she is proud to be part of this great NGO championed by Dr. Iluyomade to uplift women especially from the grass root level.” The convener, while appreciating dignitaries for honouring their invitation, said “my passion is for every woman, no matter the status or position, to come out of their shell and bloom because every woman possesses special qualities needing to be identified and tapped into.”
Meanwhile, the event which was also witnessed by the wife of Niger State governor, Mrs. Amina Bello, represented by Hajia Zainab Bima, was part of a three-day Arise Women Empowerment programme in Abuja, which saw the NGO launching projects including a skills acquisition academy, boreholes and distributing over 5,000 different items for the residents of Dafara and Kabusa in its adopt-a-village scheme initiative.