Abuja – Nigeria’s First Lady Patience Jonathan was on Friday in Abuja
re-elected as the President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission
(AFLPM).
Jonathan as well as all other regional heads of the mission were unanimously re-elected at the 7th Summit of the AFLPM.
The AFLPM re-elected Mrs Jonathan as its President and she is expected to oversee the affairs of the Mission in West Africa.
The First Lady of Cameroon was re-elected as Vice President (Central
African Region), while the First Lady of South Africa retained the post
of Vice-President, Southern African Region.
The First Lady of Sudan was re-elected as Vice-President (Eastern
African Region); the First Lady of Libya retained the post of
Vice-President (Northern African Region); while the First Lady of the
Republic of Congo was re-elected as an Ex-Officio executive for a fresh
two-year term.
In her acceptance speech, Jonathan thanked all the members of the
Mission for the confidence reposed in her and members of her team to
continue as AFLPM’s executives.
“It is a great honour for me and our country, Nigeria; this new
mandate would further strengthen our resolve to laying a solid
foundation for our great organisation.
“We will not relent in our efforts in ensuring that the African First
Ladies Peace Mission fulfills its divine responsibility of achieving a
lasting peace in Africa.
“Let me appeal to you my dear sisters that all of us owe our spouses
support in ensuring that peace, security and total development is
achieved in Africa.
“We must all work hard to change the picture of war painted of Africa to that of a peaceful, stable and progressive continent.
“We can still play our part in resolving some of the ongoing conflicts in Africa.’’
Jonathan called on all African women to persuade their husbands, sons
and brothers to embrace dialogue and refrain from violence because
women suffered most, physically and emotionally, in all conflict
situations.
She said that women, as mothers, could no longer afford to sit in
their comfort zone and do nothing because the lack of peace and
insecurity always affected governance and developmental efforts
negatively.
In her closing remarks, the AFLPM President urged members of the
Mission to remain committed to the goals set for achieving peace in
Africa.
She stressed that the African First Ladies were responsible for
shaping the future of the continent, adding that tangible efforts must
be made in the peace building process.
“ I want to urge us all to reflect on the programmes and activities we intend to implement as we return home.
“ This is very important because without conscious, clear and
thoughtful commitment on our part with regard to efforts to pursue an
agenda for peace in Africa, the goals of this summit would have been
defeated.
“Therefore, we must work hard for peace promotion as African mothers
so that generations yet unborn will be proud of our efforts in making
our continent a better place to be.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AFLPM, which aims
at promoting peace and harmony in Africa, was established in 1995 after
the UN Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
NAN recalls that Nigeria was elected the President of the AFLPM in
2008 and it was then agreed that Nigeria should provide a permanent
secretariat for the Mission.
A total of 10 First Ladies attended the summit, while 21 others sent representatives. (NAN)
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