By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has launched the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU), a strategic investment initiative which is expected to target over 25 million Nigerian women nationwide.

In a Friday statement, it was disclosed that President Bola Tinubu this week inaugurated the NFWP-SU programme, declaring the initiative a strategic national investment and unveiling the government’s ambition to expand its reach to over 25 million Nigerian women across the country.

According to the statement, the President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the scale-up marks a decisive shift in Nigeria’s development strategy, with women’s economic empowerment, family stability, and social development placed firmly at the centre of national growth.

He stressed that Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable prosperity while half of its population remains structurally constrained.

“Women are not peripheral to national development. They are central drivers of productivity, custodians of family stability, and indispensable partners in our ambition to build a resilient, competitive and prosperous nation,” the President said, noting that empowering women is essential to job creation, food security, financial inclusion and economic diversification under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

President Tinubu described the programme as more than a social intervention, calling it “a strategic investment in Nigeria’s economic infrastructure.”

He said the success of Phase I of the programme, which reached over one million beneficiaries across six states, provided strong evidence that structured, data-driven empowerment models deliver measurable, lasting impact.

Building on that evidence, the President announced a bold national ambition to scale the programme beyond its current targets to reach 25 million women nationwide, creating a sustainable platform for women’s economic inclusion embedded in federal, state and local systems.

He called on development partners, particularly the World Bank, to support the expansion through financing, technical assistance and innovation.

According to the President, the integration of digital platforms such as the Happy Woman App, identity verification and transparent targeting reflects the administration’s insistence on measurable and verifiable public policy.

“The work of the Ministry has shown what focused execution can achieve. This is how public trust is rebuilt and how government resources reach real people with real impact,” he said.

On his part, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the Bank was honoured to co-finance the NFWP-SU with the Federal and State Governments, describing it as fully aligned with the Bank’s new Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria, which prioritises unlocking economic opportunities, strengthening private sector linkages and creating more and better jobs.

Mr Verghis noted that Nigerian women remain disproportionately affected by poverty, with 64.3 per cent living below the lower-middle-income poverty line, despite their critical contributions to agriculture, trade and enterprise.

He said the Women Affinity Group (WAG) model promoted under the programme has proven to be a powerful tool for lifting women out of poverty by enabling collective savings, access to credit, financial discipline and enterprise growth.

Citing examples from the field, he explained that over 28,000 WAGs currently empower about 600,000 women across Nigeria, allowing them to save together, lend responsibly, invest in businesses and transition into formal financial services.

He added that scaling such models could unlock enormous economic gains, noting estimates that reducing gender inequality could increase Nigeria’s annual GDP growth by more than 1.25 percentage points, while closing productivity gaps across key sectors could add nearly $23 billion to the economy.

“This is smart economics. When women thrive, communities grow stronger, and economies become more resilient,” Mr Verghis said.

Also speaking at the event, Mr Robert S. Chase, World Bank Practice Manager for Social Protection and Jobs, described the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up as one of the most ambitious gender-focused social and economic interventions currently being implemented in Africa.

He said the programme reflects a strong partnership between Nigeria and the World Bank, anchored on evidence, innovation and a shared commitment to lifting millions of women out of poverty.

Mr Chase noted that the programme’s strength lies in its ability to build sustainable systems rather than short-term relief, particularly through the Women Affinity Groups model, which combines social capital, financial inclusion and access to productive opportunities.

According to him, the scale-up phase demonstrates Nigeria’s readiness to institutionalise women’s empowerment as a core development strategy and not merely a welfare initiative.

The NFWP-SU Phase II is a $540 million programme, co-financed by the World Bank and the Federal and State Governments, expanding implementation to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It aims to directly reach five million women, generate about 4.5 million jobs, and benefit nearly 19.5 million Nigerians indirectly, while laying the groundwork for the broader expansion to 25 million women.

Under the leadership of Minister Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has positioned the programme as the centrepiece of wider social and economic reforms.

In Phase I alone, over 26,500 Women Affinity Groups were formed with more than 560,000 members, who collectively saved over N4.9 billion, expanded businesses, paid school fees and met household health needs.

The model has since attracted international interest, with other countries seeking to understudy Nigeria’s experience.

Beyond economic empowerment, the ministry has linked the programme to digital inclusion, civic identity, child protection and family welfare, while rolling out complementary initiatives in agribusiness, energy access, skills development and protection services.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has reaffirmed that electricity meters being deployed under the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) are free for customers, warning Nigerians not to pay any money for meter supply or installation.

The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, stated this in Abuja at a joint media briefing on DISREP with the managing directors of Nigeria’s 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos). DISREP is financed through a $500 million World Bank facility.

The DG said the concessional nature of the funding, which comes at single-digit interest rates, makes it more sustainable than commercial borrowing and supports long-term stability in the power sector.

Under the DISREP IPF, 3.2 million smart meters are being procured and installed nationwide over four years through competitive international and local bidding. According to him, close to 700,000 meters have already been delivered, while about 200,000 have been installed across different DisCos.

The DG said, “With DISREP and other Federal Government interventions, the journey to power sector reliability is underway. DISREP is not just a short-term intervention, but part of a broader and coordinated plan of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, towards building a financially viable and service-oriented electricity market

“Nigerians deserve a power sector that works, one that delivers reliable electricity, protects consumers, ensures value for money, and supports economic growth.

“Together, we shall achieve that! The supply and installation of these meters for customers is free.

It was also disclosed that the government had already paid the contractors to supply and install the meters. DISREP is integrated with other metering initiatives, including the Presidential Metering Initiative and the Meter Acquisition Fund, to accelerate the closing of Nigeria’s metering gap.

On his part, the Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Mr Chijioke Okwuokenye, warned customers not to pay for meters.

“These meters are to be deployed and installed freely. Anybody asking you to bring money should be reported,” he said.

MD of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko Disco), Mrs Wola Joseph-Condotti, said the company is working closely with the authorities to weed out bad eggs who extort money from customers for meter procurement and installation.

The programme offers significant benefits to consumers, including the removal of upfront meter purchase and installation costs, accurate billing, the elimination of arbitrary estimated billing, improved service accountability by DisCos, better transparency and dispute resolution, and long-term improvements in supply reliability as the sector becomes more financially viable.

For DisCos, Mr Gbeleyi said DISREP provides access to concessional World Bank financing for metering and network upgrades, reduces Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, improves liquidity and revenue assurance, and strengthens operational performance for long-term investment.

He disclosed that $250 million of the facility is dedicated to Investment Project Financing, which supports bulk procurement of the 3.2 million smart meters, deployment of Meter Data Management Systems, and provision of technical assistance and capacity-building programmes to strengthen DisCos’ operations and processes.

Describing DISREP as a landmark transaction, Mr Gbeleyi said it is the first initiative of its kind in which the government, beyond investing in distribution network infrastructure, is deploying meters at scale to bridge the country’s metering gap. He cited official figures showing that Nigeria currently has about 5.66 million unmetered electricity customers.

“The plan is to quickly close that gap. These meters are for everybody. They are for Nigerians. Priority is on unmetered customers,” he said.

He clarified that while the policy targets unmetered customers, DisCos have been allowed to deploy up to 20 per cent of the meters to replace faulty or technologically obsolete units, following feedback from the field.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has successfully concluded the review of the Port Service Support Portal (PSSP) application, which is aimed at ensuring seamless handling and efficient resolution of stakeholders’ commercial disputes across the maritime sector.

The Head of NSC-ICT, Mr Benjamin Ivwigheghweta, and his team; the Head of the Complaints Unit, Mr Bashir Ambi and his team; as well as consultants from BrandOne, all collaborated to complete the platform’s final implementation stage.

Mr Ivwigheghweta expressed satisfaction with the successful integration of the revamped PSSP for streamlined dispute resolution. He encouraged the team to fully engage with the new system and to ask questions where necessary, ensuring that every member is well equipped to meet stakeholder needs with precision and efficiency.

On his part, Mr Ambi applauded the deployment of the PSSP as a tool for accelerating grievance resolution, adding that the platform would significantly strengthen the council’s dispute resolution framework by promoting transparency, boosting stakeholder confidence, and generating reliable, data-driven records to support national economic growth.

He further commended the ICT team for its unwavering support-particularly in ensuring extended network availability to support the Unit’s after-hours operations.

Describing the PSSP as a critical modern upgrade for dispute resolution, Mr Ambi revealed that the Council’s operations are now about 90 percent digital. “We rely heavily on electronic platforms to serve our stakeholders,” he said, adding that the ICT Unit has remained the backbone of these efforts by providing consistent support, even over weekends, to ensure uninterrupted online service delivery.

This digital-first approach, he noted, keeps the NSC at the forefront of maritime efficiency.

Following a productive three-hour technical review and interactive question and answer session, the PSSP is now in its final phase.

The next steps include the configuration of individual user access by the ICT Unit and a live demonstration of the platform to Management. Upon completion of these tasks, the council will be ready to go live-ushering in a new era of digital efficiency in port service delivery.

The Port Service Support Portal was officially launched by the former Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, in June 2016 in Abuja. The launch was held alongside the unveiling of the Port Harmonized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The portal was designed as an online, real-time platform to enhance service delivery, address stakeholder complaints, and curb corruption at Nigerian ports.