Nasarawa domesticates UN action plan on women, security

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday assented to bills to establish the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility as well as Council on Public Procurement.

This, he said, is in fulfilment of his earlier promise to ensure transparency and accountability in governance.

He also signed a law for the establishment of Debt Management Office and the one to amend the Internal Revenue Administration Law of 2015.

Ortom explained that the laws on Fiscal Responsibility, Public Procurement and Debt Management Office would stipulate standards similar or higher than those advised by the United Nations (UN) in the management of public resources.

Meanwhile, Nasarawa State government has domesticated the UN Security Council Resolution 1, 2, 3 and 5 on women, peace and security.

Governor Abdullahi Sule said at the occasion that his administration’s objective was in line with the action plan to incorporate women into the security structures of the government.

The governor expressed gladness that Nasarawa was the 12th state in the country to domesticate the action plan.

“The domestication affords women the protection against violence and war, which is part of our administration’s agenda,” the governor assured.

Lamenting the marginalisation of women in the society due to cultural, religious and political misconceptions, he said that they had been denied the opportunity to contribute to decision-making.

Sule, who condemned the recent rape of a three-month-old baby in Adogi, Lafia Council, warned that his administration would deal severely with anyone caught in the act of rape in the state.

He cautioned parents, vigilante groups and security agents to ensure effective monitoring of children in the society against abuses.

In her remarks, the country representative of ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), Mrs. Ene Obi, said women were increasingly bearing the major burden of conflict in recent years.