Ayade’s Most Gender Friendly Governor, Says Minister

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Senator Aisha Al-Hassan, Tuesday, described Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade, as the most women-friendly governor in the country.

Al-Hassan said the qualification is because of Ayade’s commitment and passion to alleviating the plights of women and children in the state.

The minister, who disclosed this in Calabar when she paid a courtesy visit to the governor at the Executive Council Chamber, also dubbed him a champion of women.

A former colleague of Governor Ayade in the seventh Senate, she stated: “l want to thank you most sincerely. We have been hearing from the Commissioner for Women Affairs and other women from Cross River State what you are doing for the women. You are doing well for both the women and children.

“The garment factory is a masterstroke for women as over over 90 per cent of the employees of the garment factory are women. So you are a champion of the Nigerian women, not just Cross River women.

“You are a champion of Nigerian women because Cross River women are part of
Nigeria women.”

The minister, who was in the state to sensitise the government on the five social intervention programmes of the federal government of which, four had taken off, stressed that for the federal government programmes to succeed in the state, it must partner with the state government.

According to her, “l am here to tell the women of Cross River State about the many programmes the federal government has initiated for them, and what the federal government has for them.”

On the importance of a partnership with the state governments, the minister said: “The federal government is for everybody, but 95 per cent of the governed reside in the states, therefore, for the federal government programmes to succeed, for it to get to the Nigerian people for whom the programmes are meant for, we have to collaborate with the states and that is why l have come here today from Akwa lbom State to collaborate with the state, most especially the Women Affairs Ministry to see that Cross River women key into the federal government programmes that relate to them as this is time for governance not politics.”

Al-Hassan, who used the opportunity of the visit to appeal to Ayade to key Cross River State into the home grown feeding programme of the federal government, said the benefits are enormous.

According to her, “l appeal to your Excellency to introduce one of the programmes, which is the home grown school feeding programme.”

According to her, “The advantages are enormous. It is home-grown school feeding because the food stuffs that will be used to cook for the children will be foods that are grown around the schools area. The cook will also be women who are idle in the village. They will be employed for this purpose.

“The other one is N-power which keeps youths out of cultism and other social vices.”

In his response, Ayade commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing Senator El-Hassan as Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, particularly for discovering her great potentials to serve the women of the country.

The governor assured her that the state would soon key into the home grown school feeding programme, noting that it was a great programme.

He revealed that the state would soon set up its own version of the school feeding programme and commended the minister for her commitment and passion at ensuring the partnership with the state governments to achieve the federal government programme.