Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on Friday, inaugurated the steering committee on strengthening institutional and community responses to end gender-based violence/domestication of Enugu State’s gender policy using the Oputa Panel Approach.
Governor Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the policy would protect and give everybody a voice.
He said the committee would monitor the activity, track it and have quarterly engagement of the successes that the committee achieved in terms of references.
Governor Mbah said members were drawn from within the government and civil society, adding that the state selected committed people to achieve the goal.
He named the agencies involved as civil society organisations, police, and some selected state ministries, adding that they would use the Oputa panel module.
In his words, ”We have a module in terms of the approach that we are going to be contextualising to their peculiar situation. We want to protect women, protect our children and, in the case of violence against men, protect our men. Men are being abused also, so we have to give everybody a voice, and this steering committee will see that out and work towards that objective.
“In Enugu State, we have zero tolerance for gender-based violence, and we have a committee that is blended to put Enugu State on the map, and our citizens feel safe in whatever socio-economic level they belong to that they will not be abused.”
The committee has the Commissioner for Children, Gender and Social Development, Hon Mrs Ngozi Enih, as Chairman and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Legal Matters, Barrister Osinachi, as Secretary.
