AbdulRahman Abdulrasheed, the Kwara State Governor, said that appointed and wlected female public officers in the state have lived up to the task before them.

The governor noted this when he was decorated as a global ‘HeforShe champion’ for his supportive policies on women in Ilorin on Thursday by the United Nations Women.

The governor said they have done so well, that he had no regrets about appointing women to key positions because.

“I thank you for the award as a Global HeforShe champion. It encourages us to do more. If you see what is going on in other states you could see we have to put on a lot of energy in it to achieve what we have been able to achieve and will continue to achieve,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesperson, Rafiu Ajakaye.

“When we came in 2019, there was no single elected female official in Kwara State. By the time we crossed over to 2023, we had five members in the State House of Assembly. It was a deliberate advocacy, and we hope to make more progress in the next elections.

“By and large, we are crushing the stereotype that ‘women can’t do this, women can’t do that, no one should vote for women’. I think we are getting to a stage where what matters is the performance and what you do for the people, not your gender. The women we have put into public offices do not disappoint us. They are doing very extremely well,” the governor said.

Speaking on the award, Mrs Beatrice Eyong, the UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, who led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Government House, Ilorin, said the governor merits the global honour for his dedication to gender inclusion, women empowerment, and overall development.

Eyong said Kwara was a shining example for giving women their fair share of representation in governance.

“Kwara State is a very important state to women, and one of the reasons the state is important to us is because of what you have done in the state. We are here to thank and congratulate you for all that you’ve been doing over the years for gender equality, women empowerment and overall development.

“You have made Kwara state a shining example in that regard. We are here to recognize you as a UN Women Global HEforSHE Champion. We learnt that in your first term in office, we had a female majority cabinet. And we’ve learnt that we now have a 50/50 cabinet in the state,” she said shortly before decorating the governor with the UN Women badge.