Lagos Commences Execution of Women Empowerment Policy

Kayode Tokede

The Lagos State Government yesterday said it has advanced the rollout of its Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) policy with the commencement of a high-level capacity strengthening session for top officials across 11 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).

The recent training brought together commi-ssioners, permanent secretaries, directors, nd senior policymakers from key ministries, including Wealth Creation, Health, Agriculture, Commerce, Budget and Economic Planning, Education, and Youth and Social Development, among others.

The session is part of the state drive to fully implement the Lagos State WEE Policy Roadmap, which was domesticated from the National WEE Policy and officially launched in July 2025 by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The roadmap provides strategies for removing barriers limiting women’s access to economic opportunities, while promoting financial inclusion, digital access, gender-responsive systems, and social support structures.

Speaking at the event, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Cecilia Dada, said the session was necessary to ensure that the policy does not “remain on the shelf” after its launch.

She explained that the ministry is working to strengthen ownership and understanding among MDAs so that each ministry can integrate WEE programmes into its 2026 budget and planning cycles.

The WEE programme is a policy that would get women engaged ithe n the Lagos economy drive, stressing that the policy is a national policy which is expected to cascade around all the states in Nigeria.

“With WEE, women will be included in everything that is done, and the reason for this meeting is to let the MDAs know that during their budgeting, they would include policies that will benefit women in Lagos State,” she added.

The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Rianat Onigbanjo, stated that empowering women would translate to stronger outcomes for Lagos State, maintaining that the training was designed to guide MDAs on cascading the policy into their various sectors to improve education, healthcare, economic access, and financial opportunities for women.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Policy Innovation Centre, Osasuyi Dirisu, said data has consistently shown that women face more barriers in accessing financial services, productive assets, and livelihood opportunities.

She noted that the WEE Policy Roadmap offers evidence-based strategies to scale empowerment for women over the next two decades.

Dirisu added that while the policy provides an enabling environment, the roadmap serves as the practical tool for implementation, with expected contributions from the government, the private sector, and community-level women groups.

In her remarks, the Policy Advocacy Manager, Policy Innovation Centre,  Olubukola George, said that the organisation does not want the policy launched in 2025 to sit on the shelf, but implementers can look into particular areas where they feel that they can implement activities that would empower women in Lagos State.

“It is not just about having a policy roadmap. It is about looking at what we have, how to resonate with our own ministry, and then how we can carry out activities that would affect, empower,  and elevate the lives of women in Lagos State,” she said.

The state government said the WEE Policy has become an executive directive, guaranteeing continuity across administrations and long-term sustainability.

The initiative is expected to improve access to opportunities for women across the five strategic pillars of the roadmap: agriculture, entrepreneurship, the traditional labour market, emerging industries, and education and skill acquisition.