The Alliance of All APC Women Support Groups (AAAWSG) Visits Hon. Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, Minister of State, Police Affairs.

The Alliance of All APC Women Support Groups (AAAWSG) has paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Minister of State, Police Affairs in it’s bid to collaborate with the Ministry to address some of the challenges being faced by Women and children in Nigeria on a daily basis.

Below is the text of the speech delivered during the visit on behalf of Dr. Mrs. Mary Alile, the National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

“Honourable Minister, let me first and foremost thank you, on behalf of the National Women Leader of our great Party, Dr. Mrs. Mary Alile-Idele for the privilege given to the ALLIANCE OF ALL APC WOMEN SUPPORT GROUPS (AAAWSG) to pay you this courtesy call today despite your very busy schedule. We are not unaware of the demands of your office, especially around now when all eyes are on the Nigeria Police Force and your Ministry to help bring down to the barest minimum, the rate of crime in our country, Nigeria and especially, the Federal Capital Territory. It is our prayer that Allah will supply you with the required wisdom, strength and other resources to make Nigeria a crime-free society.

As a body, we would like to express deep appreciation for all that you have been doing for women, both in your former places of assignment and here. As the Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTIP) and the Honourable Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, you would find out that women have always been at the receiving ends as they are the most vulnerable in the society by most of the ills our society is bedevilled with.

If you check the statistics very well, Honourable Minister, when we talk about trafficking in persons, a girl child is the most affected, and for refugees, Migrants and internally displaced persons, children and women are always the most impacted. No woman will leave her children in an unsafe environment and be comfortable. The bottom line is that women have always, and are still at the receiving end in all these.

We want to say a very big thank you for the various interventions you used those offices to give to the women. The succour, the reliefs, the supports you gave, Honourable Minister, to the women are all on record, and will all speak one day in your favour. Even as the Honourable Minister of State, Police Affairs, you have continued to fight the course of women. Indeed, you are a huge asset to the womenfolk.

In like manner, the APC National Women Leader, Dr. Mrs. Mary Alile-Idele, in recognition of the enormity of the pressure on Nigerian women, and in her own characteristic way of giving invaluable contributions to the course of women, appointed Dr. Philomina Abieyuwa Eriyo as the Special Adviser on Women Support Groups to specifically attend to the needs of our women through this means. This decision, Honourable Minister, is to help the National Women Leader to give special attention to women and structure interventions to them in a well organized manner.

Having seen how huge the assignment is, Honourable Minister, we are here to ask for your hand in collaboration in order for us not to fail in this assignment because we cannot afford to fail the Nigerian women who stood their ground to make the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President become a reality. Your collaboration in the areas of curbing unwarranted police intimidation and harassment of our innocent youths and children, training, appointments, material as well as financial supports will go a long way to redress some of the challenges being faced by our women.

It would be our pleasure, Honourable Minister, to have you as one of our pillars of support in this sensitive and highly demanding assignment.

Thank you so very much, Honourable Minister, for all you do to contribute to the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President”.

The Group thereafter made the Honourable Minister it’s Matron and presented her with the insignia of office.

In response, the Honourable Minister expressed her joy and readiness to collaborate with the body in all areas possible to jointly address some of the challenges faced mostly by women and children in Nigeria.

She called on the leadership of the AAAWSG to come up with useful proposals that could address some of these identified challenges.

Some of the pictures taken during the visit are as follows