OGUN NULGE WOMEN IGNITE A NEW ERA OF UNION LEADERSHIP......AS 2025 STATE WOMEN CONFERENCE CHARTS BOLD PATH FOR GENDER EQUALITY, EMPOWERMENT, PROGRESS

 By Olusola Ilori 

The 2025 Annual State Women Committee Conference of the Ogun State Women Wing of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) held  recently at the Union’s Secretariat, Agbeloba, Abeokuta, has been described as a powerful reaffirmation of women’s rising influence, commitment, and transformative role in unionism and the local government service.

With the theme, “Role of Women in Unionism: A Positive Development in the Local Government Service,” the conference brought together distinguished union leaders, administrators, technocrats, and gender advocates in a vibrant atmosphere of empowerment, reflection, and renewed purpose.

Welcoming participants, the Ogun State Chairperson of the NULGE Women Committee, Comrade (Amb.) Olabisi Adetoun Adeyinka, declared that the gathering symbolized a celebration of women’s strength, voice, and enduring commitment to union service. She commended all state and branch chairpersons for their unwavering dedication to the growth of NULGE and for amplifying women’s significance within the system.

According to her, the 2025 theme represents “a call to serve with positivity toward gender equality, staff welfarism, progressive thinking, and action for the transformation of the service.”

She encouraged women never to relent, urging them to “keep the flag flying for women with lower voices and build a better world for equality, development, and peace.”

Comrade Adeyinka highlighted key achievements of the women wing under the leadership of the Ogun State NULGE President, Comrade Adebayo Adefesobi, JP, including:

Regular monthly EXCO meetings (virtual and physical)

Quarterly general meetings

Active participation in national, state, and local activities.She also outlined strategic projections for 2026 aimed at expanding women’s influence and capacity within NULGE:

Sustained monthly, quarterly, and annual programs

Deeper engagement in national and state union affairs

Stronger dialogue with leaders and veterans

Tourism and educational excursions

Zonal empowerment programs across Ogun Central, West, and East

Enhanced wellness and staff-welfare initiatives

Broadening knowledge of gender equality through continuous learning

The Chairperson also expressed profound appreciation to the State President, Comrade Adebayo Adefesobi, JP , SAC, and SEC members for their support in making the 2025 conference a resounding success.

Delivering a thought-provoking keynote address, the Director of Manpower Development and Training, Ogun State Local Government Service Commission, and Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mrs. Akintonmide Taiwo Omotayo , FNIPR, emphasized that although women constitute the majority of the world’s population, they remain the most marginalized.

She praised the United Nations for championing global and national gender-equality initiatives, including the renowned “HeForShe Campaign.”

Mrs. Akintonmide noted that although women’s status has improved significantly over the decades, especially in Nigeria, “the majority still lag behind men in power, wealth, and opportunities.”

Recalling the roots of women in Nigerian unionism, she referenced iconic female labour leaders such as Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who shaped the nation’s labour movement even in the colonial era.

Speaking on the evolution of women in Ogun NULGE, she traced the journey to the 2001 constitutional review under Comrade Niyi Osoba, which gave birth to the Women Wing, led by pioneer leader Comrade (Alhaja) Olanrewaju Fatimah Sanni, a retired Environmental Health Officer.

She highlighted contemporary progress, noting that:

The latest NULGE constitution now places the Women Chairperson second in union hierarchy

Ogun NULGE currently has 20 local government Women Chairpersons

One Chairperson at the Bureau of Local Government Pensions

Two female State EXCO members and five EXCO members across branches

Mrs. Akintonmide urged women to aspire to higher offices, expressing her hope to soon witness female NULGE Branch Chairpersons and the first female NULGE State President in Ogun State.

She further encouraged women to work collaboratively—not confrontationally—with male colleagues, describing both genders as “partners in progress pursuing the overall goals of the union.”

The conference also delved into major challenges affecting women in unionism while proffering practical solutions to enhance their influence within the local government workforce.

The event attracted a distinguished array of union leaders including:

Comrade Akeem Olatunji Ambali, FCPA, Immediate Past President-General, NULGE

Hon. Lanre Jaji, Chairman, People’s Parliament, Ogun State

Comrade Folashade Omoyele, JP, NLC Chairperson, Ogun State Council

Comrade (Alhaja) Olanrewaju Fatimah Sanni, Pioneer Women Leader

Comrade Adunmo Olabisi, Pioneer State Chairperson

All the twenty chairpersons from all the branches.

In a strong demonstration of commitment to staff welfare, Comrade (Amb.) Olabisi Adetoun Adeyinka, the Ogun State Chairperson of the NULGE Women Committee, donated a First Aid Box to the NULGE Secretariat. Her thoughtful gesture received warm commendation from all attendees.

To further promote wellness, the conference also featured free health services for participants, reinforcing the women wing’s dedication to the physical and emotional well-being of staff across the state.

The colourful and highly interactive programme ended on a wave of renewed hope, as Ogun NULGE Women reaffirmed their readiness to drive a more equitable, progressive, and empowered future within unionism and the local government service.