The National President, Customs Officers’ Wives Association (COWA), Mrs Kikelolo Adeniyi on Friday marked the 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) with female senior customs officers and members of the association.
Speaking during an event hosted the NGO at its new National Secretariat in Abuja, Adeniyi said it was the first time that COWA, as a body, marked the unique international event.
“As you all know, the theme for IWD 2024 is “Inspire inclusion”. To inspire inclusion is to embrace and celebrate diversity. It is to empower women to fulfil their attain their full potentials and their purpose.
“The theme underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality in all facets of life. It is a rallying call for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where women are respected and their contributions valued,” she said.
The COWA President said one of the key pillars of the theme of IWD 2024 is the promotion of diversity in leadership and decision-making positions. “Unfortunately, women, especially those from underrepresented groups, continue to face barriers when seeking leadership roles,” she said.
She, however, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for eliminating the obstacles and challenges facing female officers.
“Women are being given the opportunity to be the best that they can be, and contribute meaningfully to national development. It is particularly gratifying to note that today; we have quite a number of senior female officers in the Management Team. We have women serving as Area Controllers, Zonal Coordinators, heads of ICT and other strategic units of the service,” she said.
She assured members of COWA that the association will not relent in pursuing their economic inclusion and empowerment.
“During the re-launch of the association on 15th February, I announced a plan to train and empower 1,200 of our members in the course of this year, to enable them contribute meaningfully to the economies of their families and the society. We started the training and empowerment last year. Our target this year is to spread it to a large number of our members in various parts of the country.
“We have also started work on the ultramodern COWA Skills Acquisition Centre in Karu where our members will receive regular training and retraining.
“I strongly believe that investing in women is good for families, communities, and the national economy. It is a powerful means of inspiring inclusion.
“We are therefore determined to expand the economic opportunities of our members through significant investments in training and suitable economic empowerment programmes,” Adeniyi said.