The House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development has charged the Ministry of Women Affairs to discharge its mandate of ensuring gender equality, protection and promotion of women and girl’s rights as well as their welfare.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mrs. Kafilat Ogbara made the remark at a meeting with the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Suleman Ibrahim, in Abuja.
She said that the meeting was to discuss the shared commitment to the principles of transparency, accountability, and empowerment as the Committee conducts its oversight duty regarding the 2024 budget allocations for the Ministry of Women Affairs.
“This is not merely a procedural exercise; it is a vital opportunity for us to ensure that our financial commitments translate into meaningful outcomes for the women and girls of our nation. As lawmakers, we have a profound responsibility to scrutinize how public funds are allocated, released, and utilized.
“The budget is not just a document of figures; it is a reflection of our values and priorities as a society. The allocations made to the Ministry of Women Affairs are crucial for advancing gender equality, promoting women’s rights, and ensuring that every woman has the opportunity to thrive,” Mrs Ogbara said.
She noted that, in reviewing the budget allocations for 2024, the Committee must focus on three key areas which include; percentage releases, expenditure and utilization.
“Considering the percentage releases, it is imperative that we understand how much of the allocated budget has been released so far and whether these releases align with the timelines established in our planning processes. Delays in fund disbursement can hinder the implementation of critical programs aimed at supporting women’s health, education, economic empowerment, and protection against violence.
“Next, we will examine expenditure. We need to analyze how these funds have been spent thus far. Are we witnessing effective use of resources? Are funds being directed towards programs that yield tangible results? We must ensure that every naira spent reflects our commitment to uplifting women and addressing their unique challenges. This requires us to ask the right questions and demand clear answers,” she said.
Revitalising the Ministry
Responding, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Suleman Ibrahim said the population of women and girls is an important percentage of the country which needed all the attention to make Nigeria great.
“So as a lead ministry for social protection that caters for children, for women, for the family agenda of the country. Yes, we have a few challenges when it comes to operations. I know that as a country, we’re facing challenges when it comes to the implementation of the 2024 and 2025. But aside that, we’re battling with issues around outdated policies and insufficient guidelines and protocols to be able to discharge our functions, which is all work in progress.
“We’ve set up a committee to ensure that all these laws are properly reviewed and then brought to the National Assembly for the final passage. And another challenge that we have faced is also the issue of funding. And I’m pleased that today, the MTF was presented at FEC.
“Mr. President has approved for me to sit with the economic team to be able to design a budget that reflects the priorities for the women in the country.
“Another challenge that we also face is the challenge around changes that have happened in the ministry. We’ve experienced so much changes, change of permanent secretaries, and I’m also just one year in the ministry, so we’re still trying to settle in with that.”
She also stressed the issue of lack of coordination.
“There’s so much duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources. And that’s also an area that we’re working with the SJF, the budget office, to see that there’s no play around this area, because funds that should go to the vulnerable people, or even funds that should go to protection are not even accounted for because of the way that we operate with development partners. We received letters from embassy saying that we should come as guests at programmes that we should be leading.
“So there’s a lot of contamination in the space. And I think that it comes from the way that the ministry was run in the past.
“On this note, I’d also like to make reference to the document that was submitted in response to the letter that we received from the committee, which has broken down how far we have gone with implementation of the 2024 budget, 2025 budget.
“And I would just like to briefly highlight that in 2024, we received 99% of the overhead and personnel cost. And I think about, as of the last time, I knew it was 30, but it’s showing 6.9% release of the capital for 2024. For 2025 budget, we received 13.4% of the overhead, 79.9% of personnel cost, but only 0.1% of our capital budget,” she said.
The minister reiterated and she will work with the House and also carry everyone along.
She also promised to capture every interest group.