Bukola Afeni
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta said there is a need to expose girls and young women to more opportunities in the digital ecosystem.
He said this is in line with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) resolution 70, which advocates gender mainstreaming and promotion of gender equality, as well as the empowerment of women through information and communications technology (ICT).
The EVC stated this at the event was a public lecture organized by the Kano Civil Society Forum (KCSF), an umbrella body of over 200 women’s rights groups, in conjunction with the Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Studies of Bayero University, to mark the 2022 International Women Day (IWD), in Kano State.
NCC boss further stated that the Commission is particularly committed to bridging the gender-oriented digital divide.
The 2022 International Women’s Day became a day for acknowledging his role in women empowerment in the country, as numerous beneficiaries of his efforts decorated him with the award.
However, while Danbatta, according to the programme event, was to present awards to various women who have distinguished themselves in different endeavours, little did he know that the beneficiaries of various youth entrepreneur skills and other empowerment programmes of both the Commission and his charity foundation, Danbatta Charity Foundation (NCF), planned an ambush to present their prizes to him.
In the same vein, the CDS, Mumbayya House and KCSF also presented their award of recognition to the EVC, leaving the NCC boss visibly surprised.
Danbatta told the gathering that he is a strong believer in the potentiality of womenfolk, and he has never hesitated to entrust responsibilities to his female colleagues because he has always found them to be very reliable when assigned with official tasks.
“I am a very, very strong believer of the tremendous potentiality of members of the womenfolk. And they do it with such finesse, not with any aggression like men do. Women, by their very nature, are tender.”
