The Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike has called on the girl-child to embrace education as a route towards the actualisation of her dreams.
Speaking during the 2020 Essay Competition Award Ceremony in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl-Child organised by RivEthics (A Subsidiary of Suzzette Family First Foundation), Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike said education is an empowerment tool for women.
She said: “Education is one of the most important tools in empowering women.Educated women are better mothers.
“If you go to school, you give your generation a better opportunity to positively impact the world.
“The best gift that parents can give to their children is education ”
She appealed to the girl-child to remain focused as they work towards a greater future.
“I urge you to keep up your brilliance . Education is a valuable resource for humanity. Consider yourself privileged . Use the opportunity of your education to be the best you can be, so that God can bless your efforts.
‘There will be distractions which can derail you.But keep keep focused at the goal that you intend to reach.”
She stated that Girl-child Education suffers Worldwide, but Africa is the place where the girl-child has the least access to education. She noted that in Nigeria, there are five million girls who are out of school.
Commenting on the award ceremony, she said it was for a competition that took place in 2018. She said henceforth, the award would be an annual event for RivEthics. The competition was organised to celebrate and reward girls who performed excellently from secondary schools in the state.
Justice Nyesom-Wike said that 40 schools participated in the competition. She said that the results were graded outside the state by examiners who didn’t know the participants.
The Wife of Rivers State Governor appealed to Rivers girls to release their potentials and begin to take steps to conquer the world.
Commissioner for Social Welfare & Rehabilitations, Mrs. Inime Chiwenwo-Aguma said that the programme was aimed at celebrating girls who excelled during the 2020 Essay Competition in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child.
She acknowledged the Wife of the Rivers State Governor, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike for her strategy to use information technology to empower the Girl-Child with knowledge to contribute to social development. .
Guest Speaker, Mrs Titi Horsefall urged the Girl-Child to stretch herself to be the best, in order to effectively serve the society.
Rivers State Education Commissioner, Professor Kaniye Ebeku made a commitment to support the promotion of girl Child education in the state.
He stated that the message is clear that the Rivers State Government is working to improve the quality of education. He said that the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders will deploy all resources to improve Girl-Child Education.
Chairman of Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, Dr Betty Agala said that gender equality has come to stay.
She thanked the Rivers State Governor for promoting gender equality in Rivers State through his appointments and actions.
In a goodwill message, the Chairman of International Federation of Women Lawyers, Rivers State, Mrs Ngozi Odokwe said the girls are built for extraordinary exploits.
She said that all leaders should work towards promoting equal rights. She said the common goal should be to encourage the girl-child to work towards excellence.
Also speaking, the Head Business Development, British Council, British Council, Eyitayo Akani said that the goals of Rivethics are in consonance with that of the British Council. He said that the British Council will work with the organisation to promote opportunities for the Girl-Child.
Paul Foh urged the Girl-Child to be disciplined enough to make the right decision to contribute to the development of the nation. He advised them to positively use their opportunities to succeed in life.
In a goodwill message, UNICEF Port Harcourt Field Officer, Guy Marie pledged to work with RivEthics to promote girl-child education .
Highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of awards to individual winners and schools by the organisers. The Overall Award went to Miss Uduak Godknows Etim of GSS Finima..
Simeon Nwakaudu,
Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Electronic Media.
24th January, 2020.
