Gender experts and development stakeholders have called on governments at all levels to adopt inclusive policies that promote fairness, advance gender equality and strengthen social protection for women, young people and persons with disabilities across Nigeria.
The call was made on Friday in Abuja during the inauguration of Nigeria’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Performance Leaderboard, an assessment designed to evaluate the performance of all 36 states in promoting inclusion and equal opportunities.
Dr Priscilla Achakpa, Founder and Global Lead of the Women Environmental Programme (WEP), urged the media, private sector and other stakeholders to support efforts to advance gender equality and improve social protection across the country.
Achakpa stressed that gender equality and social protection should not be treated as the responsibility of government alone, noting that families, communities, businesses and the media all have important roles to play.
She called on families and communities to treat girls, boys and persons with disabilities with dignity, care and equal respect.
According to her, government policies should recognise the different needs of individuals while ensuring fairness, equal opportunities and inclusion in society.
Achakpa explained that the GESI Performance Leaderboard was developed to assess how effectively women, young people and persons with disabilities are represented and included in governance across the country.
She said the assessment was designed to determine the extent to which state governments had translated their commitments to inclusion into practical actions.
The assessment covered six key areas: leadership and representation, policy and legal frameworks, accessible infrastructure, budget allocation, access to justice and open governance.
Achakpa disclosed that 108 trained data collectors, with three assigned to each state, gathered information through official records, interviews, online reviews and physical inspections.
She said the exercise would help promote accountability among state governments and encourage them to address gaps in gender equality and social inclusion.
She also appreciated government officials who provided information for the assessment and acknowledged the support of development partners, including Christian Aid and ActionAid.
Speaking at the event, John Baaki, Co-Executive Director of WEP, said the organisation collected data on state legislators, members of executive councils and key judicial officials, including chief judges and leaders of customary and Sharia courts.
Baaki explained that the data were analysed to determine the representation of different genders, age groups and persons with disabilities in government institutions.
He added that the team relied on online searches to obtain additional information where official records did not provide sufficient details.
According to him, data collectors also visited state government secretariats to assess the availability of facilities that support access for persons with disabilities and other groups.
The facilities inspected included ramps, elevators, accessible toilets, crutches and breastfeeding rooms.
Baaki said states were scored based on the facilities available, while those with ongoing construction projects received partial marks.
He identified Zamfara as one of the states that recorded a low score in the assessment.
Also speaking, Aver Akighir, Executive Director of the Hope Alive for Possibilities Initiative (HAPI), urged stakeholders to move beyond policy commitments and ensure that their promises resulted in measurable improvements in people’s lives.
She emphasised the importance of ensuring that women, young people and persons with disabilities were not excluded from development programmes and public services.
Similarly, Dr Iniobong Abiola-Awe, Director of the Department of Climate Change at the Federal Ministry of Environment, called on state governments to use the assessment findings to improve policies, strengthen institutions and increase budgetary commitments towards gender equality and social inclusion.
Abiola-Awe, who was represented by Cordelia Elebeke of the ministry’s Department of Climate Change, also encouraged states that had made progress to share their experiences and effective practices with others.
She stressed the need for evidence-based decision-making and accountability to guarantee equal opportunities in governance and access to climate-related interventions.
In her remarks, Stella Abah, Senior Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Specialist at Christian Aid, urged state governments to use the report to strengthen accountability and improve their performance in promoting inclusion.
Abah, who represented the organisation, said gender equality and social inclusion should be prioritised in government planning, budgeting and service delivery.
She reaffirmed Christian Aid’s commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to promote inclusive development and ensure that vulnerable groups were adequately considered in government policies and programmes.
The stakeholders expressed hope that the GESI Performance Leaderboard would encourage state governments to identify areas requiring improvement, strengthen accountability and implement policies that guarantee fair treatment and equal opportunities for all Nigerians.
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