The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has received the Presidential Women’s Economic Empowerment Leadership Award for her commitment to advancing women’s economic inclusion and expanding opportunities for women across Nigeria.
The award, presented by the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), was conferred on the Minister by the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr Nurdeen Zauro, at the She’s Included Awards Night in Abuja.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim was recognised for her leadership in promoting women’s economic empowerment and efforts to ensure that women are positioned to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic prosperity.
The recognition is also a testament to purposeful leadership and the transformative work being championed under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, towards building a more inclusive economy where no woman is left behind.
Speaking after receiving the award, Sulaiman-Ibrahim said she was at the event to honour individuals and organisations working consistently to advance national development.
“I came here to honour the efforts and also recognise all the people who, day in and day out Continue to make it count, continue to push in their own little way,” she said.
The Minister challenged Nigerians, particularly young people, to embrace problem-solving as a pathway to wealth creation, stressing that opportunities follow value creation.
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“As long as you have something, you are solving a problem, it is a guarantee you are going to make money. It’s not magic. Opportunities will come, the people that will support you will come,” she said.
She said Nigeria was increasingly becoming a country of opportunities rather than merely a land of aspirations.
“So today Nigeria is not just a land of dreams, it is a land of opportunities,” Sulaiman-Ibrahim declared.
The Minister, congratulating other awardees, described their presence as evidence of their commitment to national development and love for the country.
“To all the awardees today, we celebrate you. And all of us in this room here today, we are winners, we’re achievers because for you to be here today is truly because you want to move for the nation. It’s for the love of the country,” she said.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, while dedicating the award to Dr Zauro and other partners for the increased attention to women’s issues, further identified inclusion as a critical missing link to women’s economic transformation, particularly in enabling women to attain greater levels of wealth and enterprise.
“We thank you for shining the spotlight on our women’s issues in the last two days,It’s not every day that women see this kind of attention. Inclusion is a missing link; it’s what’s stopping women from becoming multi-billionaires,” she said.
