Kwara Speaker honours Girl Child on UN International Day
Celebrating the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child, the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Engr. Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, has paid tribute to the resilience, strength, and potential of young girls globally, with a special focus on those in Kwara State.
He commended the significant role of girl-child education in the state, highlighting the efforts of women pioneers like Hon. Hajia Raliatu AbdulRazaq, a nonagenarian and the first female councillor in Kwara.
Speaker Danladi-Salihu praised Hajia AbdulRazaq for her contributions to education and philanthropy, particularly through her role in co-founding Ilorin College Ilorin (ICI) in 1968, now known as Government High School, Adeta.
The college, the first privately owned in the state, has produced many prominent female professionals, including judges, professors, lawyers, and medical doctors. AbdulRazaq also founded the Raliat Foundation, a widely recognized philanthropic organization in Kwara.
The speaker noted that Hajia AbdulRazaq’s legacy has greatly influenced her son, Kwara State Governor Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, whose policies, particularly the Political Offices (Gender Composition) Bill of 2021, have been designed to empower women.
He disclosed that Kwara now boasts the highest number of female cabinet members in Nigeria, with 15 of the 16 local government councils recently electing female vice-chairmen.
As part of the Assembly’s celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, Speaker Danladi-Salihu reaffirmed their commitment to empowering girls to break barriers and contribute to the state’s development.
“Today, we pledge to continue supporting the girl child so they can scale hurdles and shatter glass ceilings. Happy International Day of the Girl Child,” he concluded.