Federal Government, has immortalised the late Mrs Maryam Babangida by renaming the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) after her.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Monilola Udoh, disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing newsmen in Abuja.
She said it is in recognition of the impacts of her projects on women, especially those in rural areas.
Udoh added that the bill for the change of name was passed by the Senate on March 29, 2023, while the House of Representatives passed the same on April 5, 2023.
According to her, the renaming is in line with the amendment of the National Centre for Women Development Act, Cap. N15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, to enhance the functions of the centre.
“The Government under the last Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the bill by assenting to it in May 2023.
“By this information, we want our esteemed partners, the general public and indeed the media personnel to take note of the changes and help publicise it to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and even beyond,” she said.
Asabe Vilita-Bashir, the Director-General of the centre, noted the huge contribution of the late first lady, especially her “Better life for Rural Women” project, which impacted on the lives of women nationwide.
“Maryam Babangida is someone that Nigerian women will not forget and we are doing this to encourage other women leaders to emulate her virtues, commitment and support to women.
“This will serve as an inspiration to all women in leadership positions to do more for Nigerian women and will be recorded by history,” she said.
Moji Makanjuola, the Chairman, Implementing Committee for Infrastructure and Renaming of the centre, said: “Renaming of the centre is significant for women. There is something that should remind us about yesterday to enable us to do our today better.
“We need to start putting history into perspective, if we don’t do that, we will lose sight of who we are as a people, country, nation and tribe,” she said.
