News
NGO urges more awareness against gender-based violence in communities
By Moses Mark
An NGO, Women for Women International-Nigeria (WFWI-N), has called on relevant stakeholders to create more awareness to curb Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in rural communities.
The Country Director of the Organisation Mrs Bukola Onyishi made the call at the grand finale of the 2020 16-day of activism against gender based violence held on Thursday in Jos.
According to Onyishi, the culture of silence has posed a serious challenge to the fight against gender-based violence in the society, hence the need for more awareness to curtail the menace.
The country director, who decried the spate of rape and other forms of domestic violence in rural communities, called on victims to speak up.
“There is prevalence of rape and other domestic violence in our society, particularly rural communities.
“The culture of silence must be broken. People must speak up, women need to speak against such evils.
“When victims speak up, we will have data, then we can comfortably find lasting solution.
“The lifetime effect of rape on women is unimaginable and we cannot sit back and fold our arms and allow it to continue in our society.
“Organisations like ours has trained and sensitised these women you are seeing here today; we call them ‘change agents’, to speak against all forms of gender-based violence.
“But we need more awareness creation, we need to engage more at the grassroot,”she said.
Onyishi called on critical stakeholders and the government to devote time and resources to ensure that gender-based violence is eliminated in the society.
The Advocacy Coordinator of the Organisation Mrs Zainab Gbogoniyi said the change agents were specifically trained to identify issues of violence against women and advocate for change in their various communities.
Gbogoniyi, who decried that cultural norms and practices had been a huge challenge, however, said that some levels of progress had been recorded.
“Women can now get inheritance in some communities. And this is because of the awareness we created together with our change agents.
“Cases of rape, battering and other forms of domestic violence are gradually going down because of the work of our change agents,”she said.
One of the change from Angware community of Jos East local government area of the state Mrs Mary Yaro who spoke on behalf of others, thanked WFWI-N, for the initiative.
According to her, the trainings provided by the WfWI-N, has brought tremendous progress in terms of addressing violence against women.
“As I speak, we have had discussion with the men, and they have agreed to share their inheritance with the women.
“Before now, there is no day that a woman is not beating in our community, but now it has reduced and we are hoping to end it completely soon,”she said.
Senator representing Kogi East Senatorial District, Jibrin Isah Echocho, has congratulated Muslim faithful for the successful completion of this year Ramadan fast, urging them to celebrate the Sallah in love, and unity across our communities.
Echocho in a statement madeavailable to CAPITALPOST in Lokoja o Sunday, described the Ramadan period as stressful, but deserving, because it is the only period for spiritual reflection on abstinence from immorality, sincere sacrifice and supplications to Allah.
He added that, Ramadan symbolises Allah’s way of teaching humanity on virtuous living, where people keep away from all forms of comfort to appreciate what the less privileged experience and deprivation they suffers daily.
He task Muslims to extend the lessons of Ramadan to the way we live with our neighbours.
“Let’s seek peace at all times and promote unity of purpose in our society” the Lawmaker demanded.
“May the celebration brings sustainable peace to our homes, my district, Kogi State and Nigeria, he concluded.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has commended Senator Basheer Lado, for redefining the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, stating that, for the first time in a long while, the office is fully meeting its expectations.
Speaking during his visit to the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters accompanied by distinguished senators, Akpabio described the visit as a significant step in strengthening Executive-Legislative relations.
He praised the Special Adviser and his team for maintaining the confidentiality of communications between the President and Senate, and also, ensuring a seamless flow of information. He further emphasized that the office is now more result-oriented.
Additionally, he acknowledged the office’s diligent efforts in tracking all Bills passed by the Senate and assented to by the President, underscoring its critical role in legislative efficiency.
Expressing his satisfaction, Akpabio noted that he and the Senate delegation were proud of the office’s achievements and looked forward to sustaining the existing cordial and productive relationship between the Executive and the Legislature throughout the administration.
In recognition of his exemplary leadership, Senator Lado presented an Award of Excellence to Senator Akpabio.
In his remarks, Senator Lado reaffirmed his commitment to fostering a harmonious working relationship between the Executive and the Legislature. He lauded Akpabio for his unwavering dedication to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda—defending it with clarity, articulating it with passion, and advancing it through legislative action.
Ahead of the 2025 political party Congresses, Plateau State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) stakeholders has endorsed the defection of the candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections and the leader of Justice and Rebirth, Barr Gyang Zi SAN, to the All Progressive Congress (APC) with the view to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
They made the call in a communique issued at the end of the enlarge meeting of the stakeholders from Plateau North senatorial zone at the residence of Barr. Gyang Zi in Rayfield Jos.
The communique which was jointly signed by Dr. Ayiki Sati Director General, Justice and Rebirth and
Barr. Samuel Galadima- 2024 Chairmanship candidate of Jos East LGA among others said the call became imperative on the sideline of the leadership tussle at the National Level which violates the core principles and values for the formation of the Party as an alternative for Nigeria for the protection, sustenance of democracy and Social Justice.
They regretted that the leadership tussle has also divided the party into factions leaving party loyalists and supporters in the state of despondency and confusion not knowing where they belong.
Our correspondent reports that the gathering included LP candidates from the 2023/2024 general elections, party executives, and support groups from the six local government areas of the Northern Senatorial District.
Besides, the focus of the discussions was centered on the state of the Labour Party at both national and state levels and the need for political realignment ahead of the 2025 party congresses and conventions.
The stakeholders further frowned at the structural weaknesses in LP and resolved to advise Barr Gyang Zi, to leave the party and join the APC while expressing confidence that the APC would provide him with a platform to advance good governance in the state .
The communique also emphasized the importance of political consultations, particularly with APC leaders at both state and national levels. It called for collaboration with Plateau State APC leaders, including Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, Sen. Simon Bako Lalong, Sen. Diket Plang, and other party officials.
According to the communique, supporters of Barr Gyang Zi also pledged to mobilize grassroots support for the APC, stating that their leader’s defection would strengthen the party in the state.
They urged the APC leadership to formally receive Gyang Zi and his supporters into the party, marking their official transition from the Labour Party.
Stakeholders also reiterated the need for inclusive governance, ensuring that youths, women, and less privileged individuals are sidelined in the democratic process and accordingly officially denounced their membership in the Labour Party, declaring their support for the APC.
They assured that all LP structures aligned with Gyang Zi would follow suit, shifting their loyalty to the ruling party in the state and at the National level.
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