Anambra Women Affairs Commissioner Reiterates Commitment to Partnering Groups Fighting GBV

By Ebele Ezeh

The Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Esther Onyekesi, has reiterated the ministry’s readiness to partner with groups genuinely committed to reducing Gender Based Violence, GBV, in the state.

Commissioner Onyekesi stated this when she received members of the Anambra State Multi Stakeholders Committee on Gender Based Violence Prevention, MAP GBV, who paid her a courtesy visit at her office at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Centre, Awka.

Describing Gender Based Violence as a serious offence, Mrs. Onyekesi warned perpetrators to leave the state or face the full weight of the law. She assured that the ministry would leave no stone unturned in identifying perpetrators and ensuring that they are prosecuted to a justifiable end.

Earlier, the State Chairman of MAP GBV Prevention and Traditional Ruler of Olumbanasaa, Igwe Pius Omachaonu, briefed the Commissioner on the history and activities of the programme. He disclosed that ActionAid Nigeria, the organisation sponsoring the programme, would wind up its support this year.

Igwe Omachaonu therefore appealed to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare to take ownership of the programme, which is domiciled in the ministry, to prevent it from going into extinction.

He also outlined other sensitisation programmes planned by the committee and identified lack of office accommodation as one of its major challenges, noting that the situation hampers effective coordination of members and activities. He consequently appealed for increased support from the ministry.