…as minister say funding gaps, operational hurdles come to light
By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has called on the Ministry of Women Affairs to fully uphold its responsibility of advancing gender equality and safeguarding the rights and wellbeing of women and girls across the country. 
This charge was delivered during an oversight meeting at the National Assembly, where the Chairman House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Rep. Kafilat Ogbara, met with the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Suleman Ibrahim, at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The engagement focused on reviewing how the ministry is implementing its 2024 budget and assessing the transparency and accountability of its programmes.
Rep. Ogbara underlined the committee’s interest in ensuring that public resources earmarked for women and girls translate into meaningful empowerment and protection.
The minister, in her response, outlined the ministry’s challenges, including limited funding and structural constraints, which continue to hinder the full execution of its mandate.
She said, “This is not merely a procedural exercise; it is a vital opportunity for us to ensure that our financial commitments translate into meaningful outcomes for the women and girls of our nation. As lawmakers, we have a profound responsibility to scrutinize how public funds are allocated, released, and utilized.
“The budget is not just a document of figures; it is a reflection of our values and priorities as a society. The allocations made to the Ministry of Women Affairs are crucial for advancing gender equality, promoting women’s rights, and ensuring that every woman has the opportunity to thrive”.
Rep. Ogbara noted that, in reviewing the budget allocations for 2024, the Committee must focus on three key areas which include; percentage releases, expenditure and utilization.
“Considering the percentage releases, it is imperative that we understand how much of the allocated budget has been released so far and whether these releases align with the timelines established in our planning processes. Delays in fund disbursement can hinder the implementation of critical programs aimed at supporting women’s health, education, economic empowerment, and protection against violence.
“Next, we will examine expenditure. We need to analyze how these funds have been spent thus far. Are we witnessing effective use of resources? Are funds being directed towards programs that yield tangible results? We must ensure that every naira spent reflects our commitment to uplifting women and addressing their unique challenges. This requires us to ask the right questions and demand clear answers”, Ogbara added.
In response, the Minister explained that, the population of women and girls is an important percentage of the country’s which needed all the attention to make Nigeria great.
“So as a lead ministry for social protection, that caters for children, for women, for the family agenda of the country.
“Yes, we have a few challenges when it comes to operations. I know that as a country, we’re facing challenges when it comes to the implementation of the 2024 and 2025. But aside that, we’re battling with issues around outdated policies and insufficient guidelines and protocols to be able to discharge our functions, which is all work in progress.
“We’ve set up a committee to ensure that all these laws are properly reviewed and then brought to the National Assembly for the final passage. And another challenge that we have faced is also the issue of funding. And I’m pleased that today, the MTF was presented at FEC.
“Mr. President has approved for me to sit with the economic team to be able to design a budget that reflects the priorities for the women in the country. Another challenge that we also face is the challenge around changes that have happened in the ministry. We’ve experienced so much changes, change of permanent secretaries, and I’m also just one year in the ministry, so we’re still trying to settle in with that.
“But we’re coming around when it comes to that. Another challenge that we face as well is the issue of coordination. It’s a very appealing place to play.So the whole space is contaminated. The development partners are not helping. We cannot track where funds are going.
“There’s so much duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources. And that’s also an area that we’re working with the SJF, the budget office, to see that there’s no play around this area, because funds that should go to the vulnerable people, or even funds that should go to protection are not even accounted for because of the way that we operate with development partners. We received letters from embassy saying that we should come as guests at programmes that we should be leading.
“So there’s a lot of contamination in the space. And I think that it comes from the way that the ministry was run in the past. On this note, I’d also like to make reference to the document that was submitted in response to the letter that we received from the committee, which has broken down how far we have gone with implementation of the 2024 budget, 2025 budget.
“And I would just like to briefly highlight that in 2024, we received 99% of the overhead and personnel cost. And I think about, as of the last time, I knew it was 30, but it’s showing 6.9% release of the capital for 2024. For 2025 budget, we received 13.4% of the overhead, 79.9% of personnel cost, but only 0.1% of our capital budget.
“I’d like to reiterate and reference your speech, Honourable Chair, where you highlighted the need for us to work together and also to carry everyone along and to capture every interest group. And I cannot agree anymore”, the minister said.
