By Glory Ugochukwu
The Chancellor of Gregory University Uturu, Prof Gregory Ibe has challenged women to emulate the strong-minded and industrious spirit of excellence embodied by women like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Akunna Enwereuzor Cook.
Speaking on the celebration of International Women’s Day, Prof Ibe appreciated the outstanding role played by women globally in the task of community development. He encouraged the female folk, especially Abia women, to sustain their legendary support to men, which according to him “has produced seasons of outstanding sterling performances by Abia in vital sectors.”
He contended that “without the role of Abia women who, in their often despised position as petty traders, are the actual soul of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise sector, our state may not have recorded the feat of being ranked the third most attractive destination for investment in the country, next only to Lagos and Abuja, as recently revealed by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).”
This assertion, according to him, “is supported by the gregarious spirit of the Abia petty business woman who is famous for retailing goods produced by the industries and big conglomerates dotting our state.”
He therefore charged women “to be continually challenged by the achievements recorded by such Abia amazons as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, recently elected first female Director General of World Trade Organization (WTO) and Akunna Enwereuzor Cook, who was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs by President Biden of USA.”
He pledged sustained partnership with the female folk in the cause of achieving comprehensive development of critical sectors of the nation in general, and Abia in particular.
