Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged wives of traditional rulers to champion rural women’s empowerment, promote girls’ education and discourage harmful traditional practices in their communities.
Tinubu, who spoke at a symposium organised by the Association of Wives of FCT Traditional Rulers (WOFCTTRA) in collaboration with the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat in Abuja, said rural women deserved greater access to education, healthcare, finance and decision-making opportunities.
The event, held to commemorate the 2026 International Rural Women’s Day, had the theme, “Harnessing the Influence of Wives of Traditional Rulers to Advance Gender Equity, Peacebuilding, and Sustainable Community Development in Rural Communities of FCT.”
Represented by the former All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Leader in the FCT, Mrs Hilmary Aipoh, the First Lady commended rural women for their resilience and contributions to agriculture, trade, family welfare and community development.
She urged the royal wives to deploy their influence to promote gender equality, economic empowerment and peaceful coexistence, stressing that appreciating rural women must go beyond words to concrete action.
“Rural women remain the backbone of local economies and cultural preservation, yet continue to face significant systemic hurdles,” she said.
Tinubu noted that many rural women continued to face barriers to education, healthcare, land ownership, access to finance and participation in decision-making.
She called on wives of traditional rulers to use their grassroots connections to draw the attention of community leaders and government officials to the challenges confronting women and girls.
According to her, rural women face several difficulties, including limited access to maternal healthcare, rising agricultural production costs, girls dropping out of school and young women struggling to raise capital for businesses.
She urged the royal wives to champion girls’ education, discourage harmful traditional practices, encourage women’s participation in community decisions and mediate local disputes to promote lasting peace.
Earlier, the President of WOFCTTRA and Queen of Abaji Chiefdom, Hajiya Hauwa Adamu, called for greater attention to rural development, warning that neglecting villages while developing urban centres could undermine national progress.
“If you develop the city and forget the village, you have built a house without foundation,” she said.
Adamu unveiled proposals to improve the welfare, safety and economic prospects of rural women across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
The proposals include the establishment of Rural Women Safe Motherhood Clubs across the six area councils and a Palace-Based Peacebuilding Network to enable women to report gender-based violence and seek community mediation.
She also sought collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative to ensure rural women in the FCT benefit from empowerment programmes.
The WOFCTTRA president further called for the establishment of an official FCT Rural Women Traditional Institution Desk to provide a channel for concerns raised in royal palaces to reach government decision-makers.
She explained that traditional palaces often serve as first points of contact for women facing domestic disputes, threats of early marriage and maternal health emergencies.
“When a young girl in Kwali says she does not want early marriage but wants school, she runs to the Queen’s palace, not to the police station.
“When there is misunderstanding between husband and wife in Bwari, it is the wife of the chief they call; when a woman bleeds during childbirth in hard-to-reach Abaji, it is we who mobilise the midwife. We are the bridge,” she said.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the FCT Women Affairs Secretariat, Hajiya Asmau Mukhtar, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to improving the welfare, livelihoods and economic capacity of rural women across the territory.
Mukhtar commended their contributions to agriculture, food security, entrepreneurship, family welfare and community development, assuring that they would remain part of the FCT’s development agenda.
Similarly, the President of Helpline Social Support Initiative (HSSI), Dr Jumai Ahmadu, called for practical measures to accelerate grassroots development, strengthen peacebuilding and promote gender equality.
Represented by the organisation’s Programme Officer, Mrs Amina Omale, Ahmadu said sustainable national development must begin at the grassroots, with rural women provided the support and opportunities needed to contribute meaningfully to society.
