From News Editor
A serving member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Bamisile, has showered eulogies on the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji for entrenching the culture of gender balancing through economic and political empowerments for womenfolk.
The Chairman, House Committee on Delegated Legislation, averred that Oyebanji had succeeded in making Ekiti a template and good exemplar of gender mainstreaming, with the quantum of political appointments that were allotted to female gender under his outstanding leadership.
The representative of Ekiti East/Gbonyin/Emure Federal Constituency, gave the commendation, in a statement issued in Abuja and made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, on Monday.
Showering encomiums on the governor for being women friendly in his politics and administration, Bamisile stated that Ekiti has set the pace by having six female lawmakers in the Ekiti State House of Assembly, commanding the rating as having highest female representatives in that arm of government in the country.
Most interestingly, the Federal Lawmaker was thrilled by the level of women representation in the local government system, where Ekiti has six serving Local Government Chairmen, 16 Vice Chairmen and 33 Councilors, representing various wards out of the 177 statutory wards in the state.
In the area of economy, Bamisile saluted Oyebanji’s government for zealously prosecuting several programmes like Widows and Orphans Hope Project (WAOH), Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Education (AGILE) and other laudable programmes targeted at empowering the female gender and bail them out of poverty, neglect and insecurity.
The former Speaker expressed elation on how the government was tightening noose on rapists, wife beaters and those terrorizing the female minors and womenfolk, using the instrumentality of the Gender Based Violence Prohibition Law.
“Interestingly, two teachers had a couple of weeks ago bagged 44 years jail terms for raping minors. This underscored Oyebanji’s commitment to making female genders safe in our schools and wherever they may be”, he said.
The All Progressives Congress chieftain, commended the current administration for placing high premium on the economic advancement and emancipation of female gender through series of empowerment programmes that had been organised for widows, orphans, people living with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
“Through the pet project of Her Excellency, our First Lady, like Widows and Orphans Hope Project (WAOH), several Ekiti residents, especially women and female children, had benefited financial support to meet families’ emergency demands and for the advancement of the education of children from poor backgrounds.
“Also, the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Education( AGILE) being propelled by the office of the First Lady, had put smiles on the faces of many children in terms of payment of their school fees and distribution of other materials that can enhance their education.
“To demonstrate their commitments to the wellbeing of the female gender, just of recent, Governor Oyebanji and his dear wife, donated an edifice to an aged widow, Madam Modupe Ajayi Alufoge, whose house was blown off by rainstorm in Igbara Odo Ekiti last year. This singular act of generosity underscored the first family’s love to enhance the standard of living of an average Ekiti person”.
