Mrs Yemisi Suswam, the wife of the Benue governor, said on Sunday that pet projects initiated by the Office of the First Lady and state governors’ wives are constitutional.??
Suswam, who is also the Chairperson of ?Northern Governors Wives’ Forum, made the statement ?in an interview with the Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in London. ?
“If you say the Office of the Wife of the Governor is not in the constitution so it does not attract budgetary allocation, which is correct. ?
“But our pet projects are not unconstitutional because we run them as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) ?and it is not illegal to have an NGO under the law,’’ Suswam said.
?She explained ?that the governors’ wives used the goodwill of their husbands to create awareness and attract support that could impact positively on the lives of vulnerable and less privileged in the society. ?
“We try to reach out to people who are friends of government, well meaning Nigerians that can charitably support some of the social problems that we try to address through our pet projects so this is not against the law,’’ she stressed.??
Suswam, who expressed concern over the insecurity and loss of lives in the Northern part of the country, disclosed that the Northern Governors Wives’ Forum was currently working on ways to curtail the impact on women. ?
?“We are taking the security issue very seriously; we are looking at its impact and how it can and has affected women and looking at how we can curtail it in a very subtle way as wives of governors,’’ she said.??
?Suswam urged Nigerian women in the ?Diaspora to get involved in development processes in the country. ?
?“I want to encourage Nigerian women in Diaspora to get connected at home, a lot of them are still disconnected from the reality at home. ?
“ It is not enough to criticise. ?If you do not come home to see what is on ground, you will also not have a better understanding of what the challenges are and how to tackle them,’’ she said.
?Suswam also urged the women to get involved in the political process to enable them to contribute to laws that would further improve the lives of women and children. (NAN)