Kogi to implement action plan for UN resolution

THE Kogi State government on Thursday has said it would fully implement the action plan for domestication of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security of women and children.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs Folashade Ayoade, who spoke at the inauguration of the action plan in Lokoja, the state capital, expressed the commitment of the state government to issues affecting women and children

According to her, the domestication of the UN resolution was a testimony of the state government’s commitment towards ensuring peace, security and assuring women of their rightful place in the society.

The government’s scribe noted that the Implementation of the action plan would also ensure the security of women and children during conflicts and enhance their direct participation in identifying early warning signs, conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict efforts.

“I want to assure all Kogites of His Excellency’s commitment to the implementation of this action plan for enhancing the peace and security of women and children in Kogi State.

“I have also given the commitment of my office to support the implementation of this action plan which will no doubt enhance the inclusion of women in all ramifications of peace thereby reducing to the barest minimum all forms of violence against women and children in the state”, she said.

The commissioner for women affairs and social development, Mrs Bolanle Amupitan, said the action plan was conceptualised and design to further protect women and children.

She noted that policy formulation was never a problem in Nigeria but implementation, saying the country had grade “A” in policy formulation, while it had grade “E” in implementation.

“In this country, we rank grade “A” in policy formulation but it is sad to note that we rank a dismal grade “E” in implementation. We produce ‘excellent’ paperwork which we fail to properly implement.

“Hence, it seems no work is done as the policy does not impact on the targeted group. It is in the light of the above and having gone through this document, I have been able to assess it as a simple, workable document and easy to implement.”

The commissioner, however, said her ministry was ready to take the message of the policy to all the nooks and cranny of the state.

The country director of ActionAid Nigeria, Mrs Ene Obi, noted that women were important factors in the development efforts of any country.

Represented by the director of the programme, ActionAid Nigeria, Mrs Tassalah Chibok, she said the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) could not be achieved without women and children.

She, however, lauded Kogi State for being proactive and developing an action plan to tackle issues of peace without waiting for a crisis to break.

According to her, a lot of efforts had gone into empowerment programmes for the women, saying this would further ensure security and peace of the state.