Nigeria, on Tuesday in New York, reaffirmed its commitment to work with the international community to accelerate progress on gender equality and women empowerment.

Women’s affairs minister Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim declared this while delivering Nigeria’s statement at the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN headquarters.

Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim said advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment is a priority for President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ensure inclusive action, equitable justice, the safeguarding of rights, and sustainable development.

She said in prioritising this commitment, and as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda, Mr Tinubu has declared 2026 as Nigeria’s ‘Year of Families and Social Development’.

“This historic declaration reflects our firm belief that strengthening families is fundamental to empowering women, protecting children, and fostering cohesive communities,” she said. “Under the leadership of our president, Nigeria’s social protection architecture has expanded significantly from under one million households in 2015 to almost 10 million in 2026”.

According to her, women constitute over 70 per cent of the programme’s primary beneficiaries.

Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the Nigerian Government is accelerating the delivery of its flagship programme, the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions 774 (RHSI774).

The minister said Nigeria was deepening institutional responses to gender-based violence through a holistic safeguard mechanism that includes the National Electronic Dashboard to enhance real-time coordination, monitoring, and accountability.

She also said Nigeria is expanding childcare, eldercare and social support services to empower women and strengthen families.

Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the National Gender Policy and the National Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy guide strategic action, while the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and the Child Rights Act 2003 remain critical instruments for protecting women and children.

Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim also said Nigeria has seen a significant increase in domestic budget allocations for women. The minister regretted that women’s political representation in the Nigerian parliament remains low, below 10 per cent.

She, however, said the proposed ‘Reserved Special Seats Bill’ represents a historic opportunity to enhance women’s participation in elective governance. According to her, Nigeria has witnessed a significant increase in the number of women in appointive leadership positions across the public and private sectors.

Ministers at the CSW urged states to remove discriminatory laws and structural barriers so women can denounce crimes without fear and receive protection, support and redress.

(NAN)