Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has underscored the imperative of political inclusion, peaceful participation and family-centred governance as pillars of sustainable development.
Speaking at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Congress recently held at Government House, Nasarawa State, the Minister lauded the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, for what she described as intentional and inclusive leadership.
“Permit me to thank him for his intentional leadership, for his inclusive leadership in Nasarawa State. This has made APC very appealing to many people. You saw the number of people who came to APC during the rally,” she said.
She expressed appreciation for the Governor’s commitment to youth and women’s participation in party structures.
“May I also thank His Excellency who has assured us that this congress will see an emergence of youthful leaders and also a lot of women leaders. Not just women and youth leaders, there’ll be so much inclusion,” she commended.
She further lauded the Governor for sustainable and stable development leveraged on inclusivity.
“He is a very inclusive governor, we’ve seen his tolerance We’ve seen his tolerance towards youth and women.” She added
Calling for unity ahead of the elections, the Minister cautioned against violence and urged stakeholders to embrace consensus.
“Nobody has the monopoly on violence. We must come together otherwise we give the other party an easy win. It’s very important that we see ourselves as one. Anybody can be violent. There’s only going to be one team, through attributes of consensus, like we’re doing now at the Congress,” she said.
She reaffirmed the loyalty of women and youth to the party. “I can assure you of our loyalty as youths and women. We’re going to be with you all through this election. We’re going to support the party a hundred percent. You can see that from the registration we had almost 50/50 when it comes to the women and the men, and this is just the beginning.”
In an interview with journalists, Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the administration’s focus reflects the Renewed Hope agenda prioritising renewal and inclusion in governance.
“You can see a lot of renewal when it comes to development, when it comes to inclusion, when it comes to sustainability and scalability,” she said.
On economic reforms, she added: “For the first time in Nigeria, we see things going up and coming down. Nothing in Nigeria comes down when it goes up. You can see the price of food coming down. You can see the dollar rates coming down, you know, in advantage of the Naira.”
Addressing developments in her ministry, the Minister emphasised the “family agenda” championed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“What excites me right now is the family agenda. When the family is stronger we have stronger communities. When you have stronger communities then you can have peace, stability and development,” she said.
She emphasised that “just a few weeks ago, Mr President declared 2026, the year of the family and social development,” urging stakeholders across government and society to key into the agenda.