Minister of Women Affairs, Barrister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has said that the Government is set to commence the disbursement of the $100m World Bank funded women project in Nigeria as part of activities marking the 2024 International Women’s Day celebration. She made this known at a media briefing announcing the line-up of activities in Abuja. She said “the president will officially be launching the P-BAT Cares for Nigerian Women alongside other programmes like the Nigeria for Women project and the Integrity Brigade which I want all of you to be part of. As a people, let us start realising who we are because this is the greatest nation in the whole of African. I want to present members of the media to the President on the 7th of March as members of the integrity brigade because you okay a crucial role in help us to fight some of these challenges.
“Not just the media, the royal father’s and the religious leaders are also part of this Vanguard that the President will be launching but the media is very important to me because it is only you that I can use to achieve our goals for this country and if you, (the media), don’t help Me. President, they will frustrate him”. Barrister Kennedy-Ohanenye pointed that most of the intervention programs in the form of loans coming into Nigeria end up in the h as NDS of few greedy persons who usually approach donor organisations in the name of the vulnerable in Nigeria but end up pocketing these huge sums meant to be used for helping the poor. She lamented that “they use terms like consultancy, advocacy, research and to get these monies but for how long should we allow this as Nigerians.
“I want you people, (the media), to join the integrity brigade, that integrity brigade is to fight these ills I am talking about so i am pleading that for the sake of our country we use this opportunity well to get things right. she encouraged. According to her, the brigade aims to prevent misappropriation and discourage counterproductive protests among women, with NGOs expected to play a pivotal role in disseminating information. She noted that government’s commitment to sustainability, Ohanenye emphasised the consolidation of projects initiated during President Tinubu’s tenure as Governor of Lagos State.
