The Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) has graduated over 30 young women from a seven-month leadership, advocacy, and campaign skills programme.
The programme, which included a five-month mentorship phase, was funded by the Embassy of the Czech Republic and aimed at boosting women’s capacity to take up leadership roles.
The Women’s Training, Empowerment and Delivery Project (WTED) was designed to bridge the gap between women and leadership positions.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, SDN’s Head of Governance, Flora Asiere, said the women are expected to use their new skills to drive advocacy, especially as voter registration continues ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The graduates are also encouraged to step up from the grassroots and begin mobilising for future political positions,” Asiere said.
Ebenezer Wikina, founder of Policy Shapers and a mentor on the project, described the graduates as “agents of change” who are ready to make an impact in their communities.
Wikina noted that the programme has been instrumental in equipping women with the skills and knowledge needed to take up leadership positions.
“I think working with women and men, because of how we are naturally, the way men think and the way women think are different, women will feel first before they think about the logic and the men will think and want to act quicker.”
The programme highlighted the huge gap in women’s representation in decision-making positions in Rivers State.
However, Wikina is optimistic about the future, saying that the women they’ve interacted with are bright and eager to take up leadership positions.
Wikina appealed to the government and development partners to support initiatives like SDN’s, which empower women to reach their full potential. “Rivers State has a huge gap when it comes to women in decision making and I think from the women we’ve interacted with from this space we can say that the future is bright,” he said.
Meanwhile, Some of the graduands shared their excitement, calling the experience an “eye-opener” that has boosted their confidence and leadership skills
For Dr Ann Famuyiwa, a mentee in the WTED programme, she expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the programme, saying “This programme has been super impactful,” she said.
“We came in green, not knowing when we could engage the government on several levels, and we were given the adequate tools to engage with the government both for politics and also for our individual interventions.”
Through the programme, Dr. Famuyiwa said she has gained the confidence to engage with the government and demand accountability.
She also noted that she has been able to apply the skills she learned to her own project, Rim-Circle, which provides education resources to underserved schools.
While for Risa Senibo, another mentee in the program, expressed her passion for women empowerment and development. “Personally, I’m very passionate about women empowerment development,” she said. “I’ve been doing that for over a decade, and I’m going to continue this mentorship program both online and offline.”
Senibo credited the WTED programme with providing her with the tools and support she needed to take her mentorship program to the next level. “This program is exceptional because SDN is a global brand,” she said. “Merely mentioning the name SDN paves the way for access.
“I want to say a very big thank you first of all to SDN,” Senibo said. “I will also encourage them to keep it up, I know that there’s this challenge of funding but I believe that with the work that they’ve done, it has almost all the projects they have embarked on, they’re always outstanding.”
However, during the five-month mentorship period, the mentees received training in communication strategy, policy and advocacy, as well as politics and business engaging in one-on-one sessions with key institutions, including the Ministry of youth development, ministry of social welfare,Independent national electoral commission INEC, FIDA, among others
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