First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has called for an increased investment in women, describing it as a strategy for national progress.

She disclosed this in a statement shared on her X handle on Friday.

The statement reads: โ€œToday, on International Womenโ€™s Day, I celebrate every woman โ€“ daughters, sisters, aunts, mothers, grandmothers and also great grandmothers, for your resilience, passion, courage that brought us thus far.

โ€œThe theme this year resonates deeply โ€“โ€™Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.โ€™ Itโ€™s a call to action.

โ€œThis is the time to invest in women more than ever.

โ€œAccelerating progress in any sphere requires that women have to be more involved.

โ€œThat is why I see investing in women, not as charity, but a strategy to build the future of our dear nation, Nigeria.โ€

Mrs Tinubu further called for increased access to education, resources, and opportunities for women.

She also stressed the importance of dismantling economic barriers and ensuring womenโ€™s voices were heard.

The statement added, โ€œEquipping you with education, resources and opportunities to unleash your full potential, supporting your businesses, helping to dismantle economic barriers, and ensuring your voices are heard is a very crucial step.

โ€œTherefore, my question to all women is: what are you doing to help the other woman? How are you investing in her?

โ€œLet us all come together, bond and love one another. This is the pathway to accelerated progress. I charge all women; just pull a sister up, one at a time. You will be amazed what we can achieve collectively.โ€

PUNCH reports that the United Nations, while marking the International Womenโ€™s Day, decried the injustice, discrimination and marginalisation that billions of women and girls faced.

In an OP-ED, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said there was a need for โ€œpublic and private investment in programmes to end violence against women, ensure decent work, and drive womenโ€™s inclusion and leadership in digital technologies, peacebuilding, climate action, and across all sectors of the economy.โ€