N’Delta group advocates laws to empower women

The Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group has called on the National Assembly to initiate legislation which mandates that one per cent of the three per cent operating expenditure of oil and gas companies be allocated specifically for women empowerment programmes in host communities.

This, according to the NDBMG, became imperative to address the marginalisation of women in these communities, who are often disproportionately affected by the environmental and socio-economic impacts of oil exploration and production.

The group made the call in a communique issued at the end of a one-day governmental colloquium on Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act, host communities fund.

Speaking on the need for this legislation, the group highlighted that women in the Niger Delta faced numerous challenges, including limited access to economic opportunities, health care, and education.

“We are…