By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, Abuja
An organization known as the Idealab Agency Limited says it backs House of Representatives Speaker Jajudeen Abbas’s move to reposition the Gender Bill and Establishment of Office for the Coordination of Activities of Grants and Related Matters in Nigeria.
The stand of the agency was made known to Nigerians by the Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the organization, (Rex) Tyongi Emmanuel Aondoakaa Tuesday.
Making his point, he recalled that before the #’EndBadGovernanceProtest,’ the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas at an event in Abuja, convened a stakeholder meeting on the need to revisit a necessary legislative bill that was rejected in the 9th Assembly.
The Speaker in his wisdom, according to him was looking for the said bill to be revisited, repositioned and aligned to the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Ahmed Tinubu. According to him, the speaker was optimistic that the 10th Assembly would consider the bill for speedy passage to be ascended into law by the president, owning to its strategic importance in the current administration and aspiration of Mr President to lift 50 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2027.
The said bill that is being considered for repositioning, according to him reads thus: “HB 342 A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Council for Public Assistance to Widows, Dependants, Children and Orphans and Related Matters, 2019,” sponsored by Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji.
The DG/CEO believed that, if this piece of legislation is revisited, repositioned as proposed and worked upon to align with the aspirations of the Mr President as stated above, it will address the yearnings of the demonstrators and street protesters of the #EndBadGovernanceProtest, adding that it will solve the problems of hunger, illiteracy, sufferings of the ordinary masses of Nigeria and other social vices in the country.
“We are optimistic that it will reduce tensions in the land and give the legislators and the Federal Government (FG) a high public approval rating and prospect of winning future elections for the politicians in power now.
On his organization, he informed that Idealab Agency Limited is into, among others, addressing the challenges of small holder farmers, micro, small, and medium enterprises in accessing intervention funds in Nigeria, lack of market access, shortage of employment in the country and to create wealth using digital platforms.
This according to him was a follow up of the Idealab program that was officially launched in 2022 by the Bank of Industry (BoI) in collaboration with the other critical stockholders to drive the initiative of the FG for the investment in digital economy and creative enterprise (IDICE) and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation venture capital funds for intervention programs using financial inclusion and inclusive growth strategies to lift Nigerians who are excluded out of poverty.
