Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
A group on the auspices of Journalists for Peace Network (JPN) has appealed to the Edo State government to emulate states that have domesticated the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Action Plan for the interest of the women and girl-child in the state.
Spokesperson for the group, Dele Femi made the appeal in a statement made available to Journalists in Benin City.
He listed Borno, Plateau, and Gombe (the pioneers),
Kano, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti.
Borno, Plateau and Gombe as some of the states that have domesticated the WPS Action Plan.
According to the journalists’ network, it said, as the world moves toward inclusive governance, Edo State stands in a self-imposed shadows.
The statement added that the question is no longer if we need the WPS State Action Plan (SAP), but why the state government and the Office of the First Lady, led by Mrs. Okpebholo Anani, are allowing this transformative document to gather dust.
The statement maintained that the unyielding charge at the center of this storm is Chief Dr. Bridget Osakwe, the National Coordinator of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP-Nigeria).
It said for years, she has been the relentless arrowhead, piercing through the thick skin of government indifference.
It said under her leadership, WANEP has provided the technical expertise, the local data, and the international frameworks necessary to make Edo a safer place for women.
The group in their statement said that Osakwe has not just been an advocate; she has been a floor-manager for peace, coordinating stakeholders and reminding the powers-that-be that a state that ignores its women is a state building its future on sand.
According to the group “Yet, despite her incessant efforts, the “Heartbeat” seems to have developed a heart of stone.
“Domesticating the WPS agenda is not a “gender favour”—it is a strategic necessity. The prospects are undeniable which include:
Conflict Prevention: Empowering women to detect and report early warning signs of communal violence.
“Economic Stability: Secure women lead to stable markets and resilient local economies.
“Global Funding: Domestication opens doors to international partnerships and grants specifically earmarked for WPS-compliant states.
“The delay is a stinging indictment of the current administration. While states across Nigeria are racing to the finish line, Edo is stuck in the starting blocks.
“It is a paradox of leadership,’ says a source close to the peace network.
“We have the roadmap, we have the stakeholders, and we have the will of the people. What we lack is the Governor’s pen.”
“The delay is directly linked to a lack of political priority. The Edo state government appears more enamoured with visible ‘bricks and mortar’ projects while neglecting the social architecture of peace”,.
The group further lamented the internal bureaucracy within the Ministry of Women Affairs, noting that it has become a graveyard for progressive policies.
According to them, “The most provocative element of this delay is the silence from the Office of the First Lady. Mrs. Edesilli Okpebholo Anani previously stood before advocates and promised to be the bridge.
“She vowed to ensure that Gov. Monday Okpebholo, signed the document into law. Madam Coordinator, where is the bridge now? Is the Office of the First Lady merely a ceremonial post, or does it hold the weight to influence real change? The delay suggests that the promise was perhaps a convenient soundbite rather than a committed course of action.
“While Edo hesitates, the following states have already demonstrated leadership by domesticating the WPS Action Plan: Borno, Plateau, and Gombe (The pioneers)
Kano and Kaduna, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta (Our neighbors are leading the way), Kogi, Kwara and Ekiti.
“Is Edo State content with being the laggard of the South-South?
The verdict Governor Okpebholo, the security of Edo women is not a seasonal campaign promise—it is an oath of office.
“Chief Dr. Bridget Osakwe and the WANEP network have done the heavy lifting. The document is ready. The women are waiting. The only thing standing between Edo State and a new era of peace is your signature.
“History will not remember the roads you paved if the people walking them were never safe”,
