The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, on Wednesday in Abuja laid the foundation of the permanent secretariat of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM).<\/p>\n
In her address, Jonathan, who is the President of the AFLPM, expressed the hope that the secretariat would serve as a venue for discussions on how to promote peace, security and development in Africa.<\/p>\n
The First Lady also used the occasion to condole with the government and people of Ghana over the death of President John Atta Mills.<\/p>\n
Jonathan said that Mills\u2019 death was very sad news to all African countries and members of the mission, in particular.<\/p>\n
She particularly commiserated with the wife of the late Ghanaian President, who is also a member of the mission.<\/p>\n
“We received with shock and sadness news of the transition of his Excellency, Prof John Atta Mills, President of Ghana and husband of our dear sister and colleague, Mrs Emesina Mills.<\/p>\n
Jonathan called on all the First Ladies of African countries to redouble their efforts in ensuring that the secretariat project was completed within the stipulated time.<\/p>\n
“This ceremony is a follow up to our effort to build a solid foundation for our organisation. Let me assure you that Nigeria remains proud to host the secretariat of this organisation.<\/p>\n
“We have kept hope alive by this event; we have also demonstrated that we are committed to achieving lasting peace in our continent.<\/p>\n
“On this foundation stone we shall build a befitting structure as the secretariat of our mission; here, we shall assemble to discuss and resolve pressing issues of peace, security and development in Africa.<\/p>\n
“I appeal to you my dear sisters that this secretariat belongs to all of us, the First Ladies of Africa; we must, therefore, work hard to ensure its completion.<\/p>\n
Jonathan thanked the Federal Government for providing the land for the secretariat project, while commending the efforts of the founding members of the mission.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Patience earlier inaugurated an interim secretariat for the AFLPM, pending the completion of the permanent secretariat.<\/p>\n
NANalso reports that the AFLPM was established after the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing, China, to promote peace and harmony in Africa.<\/p>\n
The initiative, which was spearheaded by the First Ladies of Nigeria, Gambia, Benin, Uganda, Lesotho and Burundi, is aimed at working for peace in Africa.<\/p>\n
Nigeria was elected as the President of the AFLPM in 2008 and it was then agreed that Nigeria should provide a permanent secretariat for the Mission.<\/p>\n
The secretariat, which will have the shape of a dove, will be built on a 18,000 sq.-metre land. The edifice will have seven floors at the centre and three floors at the wings, with a 400-seat capacity auditorium.<\/p>\n
It will also have an exhibition hall for African female artists, lounges, a parking space and a peace room, where issues of peace and development would be discussed, as well as dressing and restrooms.<\/p>\n
Jonathan, who said the choice of a dove shape for the building symbolised peace, stressed that the structure would be completed within the next one year.<\/p>\n
Dignitaries at the occasion include the First Ladies of other African countries, wives of state governors, wives of diplomats and the wife of the Senate President, Mrs Helen Mark.<\/p>\n
The First Ladies also planted some trees in the secretariat\u2019s premises. (NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, on Wednesday in Abuja laid the foundation of the permanent secretariat of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM). In her address, Jonathan, who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n