The Federal Government has said that it was building a database of women in different professions in the country to enable the government provide them with appointments and other targeted interventions to help them in their chosen fields of endeavours.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, who disclosed this in her goodwill message at the 5th Real Estate and Construction Expo (RECON Expo 2021) weekend in Abuja said that the database will also help to profile the women for national and international appointments.
According to her, the government was targeting windows and single mothers in the informal sector through various empowerment programmes including small and medium scale economic programme and the rural women intervention programmes aimed at cushioning the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians.
“We are building a database of all women in the different professions to enable us plan targeted interventions to help them forge ahead in their chosen fields of endeavours as well as profile them for appointments when the need arises at the local and international levels. We will therefore invite the women in this sector to reach out to us.
“So, this is to show you that Mr. President is committed to supporting the low-income, the vulnerable and women who are the face of poverty,” Tallen said.
She stressed the need to give more support to the women as a way to end incidences of crime across the country, saying that once a woman is supported, it has multiplier effects.
Mrs. Tallen also urged players in the real estate and construction industry to use locally made materials in the housing sector so as to make housing cheap and affordable.
She also urged the organizers of the RECON 2021 to ensure gender balance by promoting gender equality and cheap accommodation for single mothers and widows for societal benefits.
On his part, the vice president of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman, RECON Expo 2021 organising committee, Dr. Somadina Anene, said that the annual event seeks to make accommodation affordable to Nigerians and other investors.
He said that the event also aimed at promoting the economic potentials of Nigeria and also help to eliminate or reduce to the barest minimum, capital flights in the construction industry.
Anene said that this would be achieved through promotion of locally manufactured goods used in the building and construction industry in Nigeria.
Also, the President of the West African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI), Faman Toure, expressed optimism that the event would help to reposition Nigeria’s real estate and construction sub-sector.
He pledged that FEWACCI would partner with stakeholders and organizers of RECON Expo 2021 to boost lntra-African trade and achieve continental integration through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
