Oyo State government has commenced training for selected Permanent Secretaries in its workforce to achieve optimal results in planning against challenges facing women and children in the society.
The State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Barrister Adeniyi Farinto disclosed this at the final leg of the training which was held in Ibadan over the weekend.
Farinto hinted that the training focused on the major thrust of governance like security, health, education and economy, which he said would be anchored on Agribusiness, adding that the State government was generating data that would help in formulating policies for proper planning in these areas.
The Commissioner said the event would foster more interest on issues relating to welfare of women and child’s right, rape, incest among other social vices that directly affect womenfolk and children.
“This training is geared towards making policies that affect women and children in the areas of health security, child survival, child rights and women’s rights because they are soft targets and are the most vulnerable in the society.
“Oyo State government totally condemn the incessant cases of rape, child trafficking, incest that are constantly reported in the news in our State and as you can see that women are at the receiving end, thus the need to have a clear understanding of the key challenges affecting them for sustainable and equitable solutions.
“The exercise is meant to promote and contribute to the building of progressively stronger evidence, based on the current state of the rights of children by improving the understanding of decision makers, support planning and development process, strengthening capacity to monitor, contribute to research and increase the knowledge base to enable assessment.”
He restated Governor Seyi Makinde’s commitment to focus on impactful projects that would improve the welfare of the citizens, adding that one of such evidence was the approval to commence the development of 20 years long term development plan that he said would run from 2021 to 2041, based on the aspirations and the desires of the people.
He maintained that the plan would provide a sense of direction, geared towards identifying challenges and proffer sustainable solutions through a participatory approach, promising that the State government would mainstream the aspirations of the data document into the State development plan and other medium-term plans at both the State and local government levels.
The Chairman of the committee and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Planning, Mrs Mofoluke Adebiyi said the essence of the data document was to create a baseline for issues relating to women and children in line with UNICEF’s plan.
She said the expectations from the data gathered was to evaluate where the State currently stood, so as to plan data for women and children, as they were the ones that indicated the wellness of the society.
