The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim,has described women as critical human resources and indispensable architects of Nigeria’s economic future, declaring that their collective strength, professional capabilities and grassroots mobilisation are essential to national development.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, stated this at the inaugural 2026 Gala and Awards Night of the Women in Energy Network (WIEN) in Lagos, where she said women united around a common purpose could move beyond participation to dominate their chosen fields and redefine development goals.
The minister, whose remarks were delivered by the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, Dr. Adebayo Benjamin Laniyi, said sustainable national progress emerged from the intersection of professional excellence and grassroots mobilisation.
According to her, solidarity remains one of the most potent catalysts for national development, particularly when women leverage their collective capabilities to advance economic and social transformation.
“It is with profound pride that I extend my warmest goodwill to the leadership and members of WIEN as you celebrate your sixth anniversary and five stellar years of breaking barriers across Nigeria’s energy landscape.
“Your tenacity and leadership at the forefront of the energy value chain prove, beyond doubt, that women are indispensable architects of our economic future,” she said.
Commending WIEN for its contributions to women’s participation in the energy industry, Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the Federal Government is expanding opportunities for women in the petroleum sector through targeted empowerment initiatives under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She disclosed that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, have launched and expanded the Renewed Hope Women in Nigeria’s Gas Sector (RH-WiNGS) Empowerment Programme.
The initiative, she explained, is anchored in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and constituted a flagship component of the nine-pillar Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions (RHSI-774).
According to her, RH-WiNGS is designed to transform Nigerian women from passive beneficiaries of government interventions into owners and operators of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refill and enterprise hubs across the country.
She said the programme would integrate clean cooking infrastructure with agro-processing, cold storage and food enterprises in local communities, thereby strengthening household welfare while expanding grassroots economic opportunities.
The minister linked the initiative to the Federal Government’s declaration of 2026 as the Year of Families and Social Development, noting that expanding access to clean cooking and community-based enterprises would contribute to household health, stability and economic productivity.
She further disclosed that the ministry is driving a nationwide mobilisation initiative tagged The Power of 10 Million: One Voice, One Movement, One Choice to strengthen women’s collective economic influence.
Under the programme, she said, the government is organising women into groups of 24, with 50 clusters established per ward across Nigeria’s 8,813 electoral wards.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim maintained that organising women into structured grassroots groups would provide them with a stronger collective platform to negotiate opportunities, influence economic activities and advance their interests.
“When together with these grassroots women, we organise as a unified negotiating bloc, we will no doubt command an unprecedented economic force that cannot be ignored,” she said.
President of WIEN, Mrs Eyono Fatayi-Williams, said Nigeria’s energy industry is populated by highly capable women whose contributions have continued to strengthen the sector, but stressed that many others needed opportunities to demonstrate their abilities.
She called for a more equitable industry in which professional competence and capabilities were recognised and matched with opportunities irrespective of gender.
Fatayi-Williams said the network’s sixth anniversary provided an opportunity to examine its achievements and redefine its priorities for the next phase of its development, arguing that the industry could no longer afford to recycle conversations about inclusion without measurable improvements.
“As we celebrate six years, we have also have to ask ourselves an important question: What does the next six years look like? Because we cannot spend the next six years having the same conversations we have had in the last six years.
“We cannot continue to talk about inclusion without asking what has changed. We cannot continue to celebrate women without asking how many more women are getting into positions where they can influence decisions. And we cannot continue to encourage women-owned businesses without asking how many are actually winning contracts,” she said.
She argued that diversity, equity and inclusion must translate into tangible workplace opportunities rather than remain statements in corporate policies or sustainability reports.
“For us at WIEN, diversity, equity and inclusion must mean something beyond a statement in a company policy or a paragraph in an annual sustainability report. It must be visible in the workplace. It must be reflected in the opportunities available to women.
“And it must be seen in the decisions organisations make every day,” she stated.
The WIEN president identified women’s career advancement and access to leadership and decision-making positions as one of the network’s major priorities, noting that the industry has a pool of qualified and experienced women who have demonstrated their capabilities over the years.
She, however, questioned the extent to which such professionals are progressing into executive management, board appointments and other positions where they could influence corporate and industry decisions.
Fatayi-Williams insisted that WIEN is not advocating preferential appointments for women but wanted qualified female professionals to be identified, developed and given fair opportunities to compete for leadership positions.
“We are not asking organisations to appoint women simply because they are women. We are asking that qualified women are identified, developed and given a fair opportunity to compete and lead.
“There are very capable women in this industry. Some are already doing the work and some simply need the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do. We must create a system where competence is recognised and opportunity is not unnecessarily restricted,” she said.
In her remarks, Chairperson of the WIEN Board of Trustees, Mrs Cecilia Umoren, said the gala and awards ceremony was organised to celebrate excellence, recognise outstanding achievements, renew professional relationships and reaffirm the network’s commitment to advancing women’s participation in Nigeria’s energy industry.
She said WIEN was established on the conviction that women deserved not merely a seat at the table but equal opportunities to influence decisions and shape outcomes in the industry.
According to her, the network has grown into a community of more than 1,000 professionals, women-led businesses and associates, supported by 30 corporate members.
Umoren, who said her several decades of experience in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has exposed her to the evolution of women’s participation in the sector, noted that female professionals have made significant progress in technical, managerial and executive positions.
“Having spent several decades in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, I have witnessed firsthand the remarkable progress women have made. When many of us began our careers, women were few and far between in technical positions, executive management and boardrooms.
“Today, women are leading energy companies, managing complex operations, influencing policy and contributing significantly across the energy value chain,” she said.
Keynote speaker at the event, Dr Mutiu Sunmonu, also acknowledged the progress women have made in the energy industry, urging WIEN to focus on consolidating their achievements and strengthening their positions.
He advised the network against seeking lower professional standards as a means of promoting inclusion, stressing instead the need to ensure that industry and societal standards were fair and equitable to all genders.
Sunmonu maintained that creating a level playing field, rather than compromising standards, would enable qualified women to compete, demonstrate their capabilities and sustain their growing contributions to the energy sector.