Ekiti First Lady Bags Woman Leader Of Year Award

The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Bisi Fayemi and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum has been named the Woman Leader of the Year.

This is contained in a statement issued by Funmi Ajala, Senior Special Assistant (Media) Office of the Wife of the governor on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti. The award was presented to Fayemi at a Gala night to celebrate the inaugural International Women’s Day Awards.

The Gala night was jointly hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, European Union, British High Commission, and the Embassies of the United States of America, Germany and France, to commemorate International Women’s Month.

Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.

The #IWDNaijaAwards is designed to celebrate women’s achievements & recognize individuals who have championed women’s political and socio-economic empowerment in Nigeria and beyond.

Speaking at the event, Fayemi, said that she was extremely honoured and humbled to receive the Woman Leader of the Year Award.

“I am genuinely delighted to be nominated in the company of such great women, all of whom are equally deserving of this prestigious award.

“This award is dedicated to all Nigerian Women. I will like us all to remember that: we are worthy; we are powerful; we have contributed significantly; we are important; we matter.”

Earlier, the UNDP office in Nigeria, said the award seeks to leverage the opportunity of the representation of 11 key countries in Nigeria by women Ambassadors to advocate for increased women representation in political and governance space.

It also seeks to publicly recognise women empowerment champions, encourage decision-makers and policymakers to ensure adequate space is created for women in the spheres of policy and decision making and advance women’s political and socio-economic empowerment.

The UNDP said aside from having women in senior positions in the UN and other multilateral organisations, Nigeria is also fortunate to have women ambassadors in; the Republic of Benin, Burundi, Colombia, Cuba, European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, UK and the U.S.

Bisi Fayemi is a globally renowned feminist writer, policy advocate, gender and development specialist, and social entrepreneur.

In 2001, she co-founded the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), a foundation that has supported the work of over 4,000 women’s rights organisations in 42 African countries, including Nigeria.