Tinubu faults N4bn allocation to women affairs ministry
27th Jan. 2016
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Tuesday, faulted the N4bn allocation to the Ministry of Women Affairs by the Federal Government in the 2016 budget estimates.
She stressed that the amount was inadequate for the various programmes meant to address the plight of Nigerian women.
Tinubu stated this while contributing to the debate on the principles of the 2016 budget on the floor of the upper legislative chamber.
She lamented that despite series of promises made to the Nigerian women during the last general elections by the All Progressives Congress, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had failed to tackle the social and economic problems affecting the women with the budget.
She said, “The APC in its manifesto mentioned that there is a need for an all-encompassing empowerment programme for Nigerian women; such comprehensive empowerment requires funds, which should be included in the budget for implementation.
“Going through the budget of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, I discovered that the total allocation to the ministry is so meagre and I think it would be the least allocation to a ministry.”
The senator noted that the functions of the ministry were enormous and would require huge funds to execute all the programmes already itemised to guarantee financial stability and security for the average woman.
She said, “We see that the ministry is divided into two divisions, but when we look at the first division, which is the human resources and capacity building, they are supposed to promote education and the development of women in the civil, political, socio cultural and economic sectors.
“Looking at this budget of less than N4bn, and we have capital with almost N3bn; so, when you look at it, what is left to do anything? I am just laying this case on behalf of the Nigerian women that this is not going to go well.
“It is as if we have been used during the campaigns and we said this is a government of change; that its change mantra is supposed to change things across board. But what they have allotted to the Nigerian woman has not really gone done so well; it is not encouraging.
“When we talk about change, that doesn’t mean we are going to dodge and support what is not working; but we are just starting and this is not the best way to start and this is not going down well with us.
“On behalf of the Nigerian women, I am making their case today that this budget is not telling anything and not making any promise.”
But the senator representing Edo Central, Clifford Ordia (PDP, Edo Central), commended the budget, stressing that it was a departure from the past.
Share: