Empowering women, key to poverty reduction — Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party at the 2023 polls, Mr Peter Obi, has said that educating and training women to acquire various skills is a sure way to reduce poverty in the country.

Obi explained that such exposures would equip women economically to support their families and improve their general well-being.

Obi, in a post sighted on his X handle, @PeterObi, on Monday, wrote, “With the female population consisting of about 50% of our population, educating and training our women through different skills and trades will not only empower them to support their families economically but will contribute to the overall reduction of poverty in the country.”

He was in Umuahia, Abia State, where he visited the Women Fellowship Pastoral Project, “an initiative of Methodist women to fight poverty among women through women empowerment and skills acquisition.”

The politician, a former governor of Anambra State, made a donation of N10 million to the fellowship.

Writing further on how skill acquisition can liberate women from poverty, Obi referenced the case of Bangladesh, where about 80 per cent of the workforce of its textile industry is populated by women.

He stated, “In Bangladesh, for example, where the textile industry is the highest exporter of products, women are said to make up about 80% of the workforce in the garment industry.

“This can be achieved in Nigeria through adequate education, training, and skill acquisition for our women.

“I thank the founders of the Women Fellowship Pastoral Project and all who contributed to its success.

“Like I always say, our productive contributions to our nation are the force upon which we will build the New Nigeria. It is quite possible.”

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