Stakeholders urge women to unite for Gombe’s development

Stakeholders have called on women in Gombe State and Nigeria to unite, support one another and mentor younger generations to drive national development.

They made the call in Gombe on Wednesday during the 2026 Gombe Women’s Unity and Progress Summit, themed: “Stronger Voices, United Women, Greater Impact.”

Hajiyah Hauwa Liman, the Technical Adviser to Vice President Kashim Shettima on Women, Youth Engagement and Impact said women needed to encourage one another and not engage in unhealthy competition.

She said women must learn to see one another as collaborators and not competitors in life.

According to her, women needed to create opportunities for other women to thrive in all endeavours of life, stressing that, a woman must not see another woman’s success as a threat to hers.

“We must believe that there is space for every woman and we must also create room for young girls who are dreaming and hoping for a better future; we must create spaces for them to achieve their dreams.

“We must stop frustrating other women with unnecessary gate-keeping; many of our young women have what it takes to contribute to building Gombe State and Nigeria but for the gate-keeping that frustrated them.”

Liman appealed to Hajiya Asma’u Yahaya, wife of Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya and Hajiya Zaynab Gwamna, wife of Dr Jamil Gwamna, the All Progressives Congress APC gubernatorial candidate in Gombe State to create more spaces for young women to succeed in life.

Hajiya Gwamna, the convener of the summit, said the summit was organised to highlight the importance of unity amongst women towards building a culture of women supporting one another.

She stated that when women support one another it would help them contribute meaningfully to the development of the state and country.

According to her, the initiative was driven by her desire to build a united and purposeful women’s movement in which women use their collective strength to contribute to the development of Gombe State.

“This summit is about bringing Gombe women together to discover our collective strength and understand that the success of one woman should open doors for another.

“We want to build a Gombe where women celebrate rather than sabotage one another, where leadership is service and opportunities not reserved for a few.

“We, women of different generations, professions, backgrounds, experiences and dreams share one purpose.

“We will not allow division to define us, jealousy to weaken us, fear to silence us or circumstances to determine our destiny.

“We will lift, build, serve, lead, support, empower, include, protect, mentor, strengthen our homes, raise a better generation and build a better Gombe State,” she said.

Mrs Yahaya commended the initiative to gather over 6, 000 women from across the state to discuss issues affecting their welfare, strengthen networks, promote mentorship and encourage greater participation in nation-building.

Yahaya reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to programmes aimed at improving the welfare, empowerment and economic wellbeing of women and youths.

The women commended Gov Yahaya for providing a platform for women to thrive and contribute to the development of the state and country.