Contextual Background – Following the two-day forum of the state commissioners of women affairs on the domestication of the national women’s economic empowerment policy, which was organized by the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Policy (NIPSS) in collaboration with the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) on the 16th and 17th of April 2024, the dRPC in collaboration with NIPSS is following up on the action plans developed from the engagement.

Overview: The follow-up advocacy engagement was a strategic meeting that brought together key stakeholders, including NIPSS and the Lagos State Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Poverty Reduction. The objective was to discuss the implementation of actionable steps towards the adoption, domestication, and implementation of the National WEE Policy at the state level.

Participants: 22 participants

• Mrs. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, The Honorable Commissioner of the Lagos State Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Poverty Reduction
• Yemi Kalesanwo – Permanent Secretary, the Lagos State Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Poverty Reduction
• Prof Ayo Omotayo, The Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies
• Representatives from dRPC and NIPSS
• Officials from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Poverty Reduction

Key Points of Discussion:

The DG, NIPSS, introduced the team and the purpose of the advocacy visit to the LSMWAPR, stating that this follow-up advocacy was to monitor and evaluate the domestication process as an output of the two-day engagement held in Abuja.

Following this, dRPC presented the National WEE Policy framework and stated its significance for Lagos State women’s economic empowerment. The dRPC further reinforced this with a brief recap of the two-day meeting held with other State Commissioners in this cohort. The Lagos State Action Plan was presented as an output of that engagement, noting the activities and timelines to which it was committed.

The Honorable Commissioner commended NIPSS and dRPC for selecting Lagos state as one of the cohorts. She noted that several WEE engagements have been implemented in the state, but it was expedient to domesticate this National WEE policy to guide its implementation. She committed to domesticating the policy, and as a show of commitment, she noted that the committee selection that would drive the process would commence today, following this engagement.

In her remarks, The Permanent Secretary noted and restated the Ministry’s commitment that Lagos State will do all it can to domesticate the policy and elevate the lives and livelihoods of women in the state.

The dRPC introduced a WEC partner, the NECA Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), to support the Ministry. After this, the deliberation on the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in the policy domestication process was concluded. A nine-member committee was identified and set up to commence the domestication process.

Outcomes:

– Consensus on the importance of the National WEE Policy for Lagos state’s socio-economic development and women’s well-being.

– Establishment of a working committee to oversee the domestication process.

– Agreement on the timelines for the implementation of the policy.

– Commitment by the Honorable Commissioner to support the policy’s domestication process.

Next Steps:

– The working committee will convene within two weeks to commence the domestication.

In conclusion, the engagement has laid a solid foundation for Lagos state’s domestication of the National WEE Policy. The Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Reduction, in collaboration with dRPC, NIPSS, and other stakeholders, is committed to taking decisive steps to ensure that the National WEE policy is domesticated.