The Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development has installed its first wheelchair-accessibility ramp, 34 years after its establishment.
The Director-General of the centre, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, disclosed this when the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, visited the centre in Abuja to announce activities marking its 34th anniversary.
She said Julius Berger constructed the ramp at no cost to the government as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.
According to her, the project followed an accessibility audit carried out in collaboration with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities.
Benjamins-Laniyi said she had declined to use her upstairs office since assuming duty on June 1 until women with disabilities could access the facility.
She added that the centre was extending its inclusion efforts beyond physical infrastructure through improvements in technology and empowerment programmes.
The Director-General also revealed that a visually impaired staff member, who joined the centre’s ICT department 29 years ago at the lowest rank, would now head a directorate.
She urged women to support one another through the “She for She” initiative, encouraging those who had contested elections to remain committed and continue advocating greater female representation.
Earlier, the Chairman of the NUJ FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, congratulated Benjamins-Laniyi on her appointment as the centre’s 16th Director-General.
Ike also commended her efforts to promote the inclusion and advancement of women.
