Meets with Minister of State for Transportation
By Gift Olivia Samuel
ABUJA: The Female Drivers Association of Nigeria (FEDAN) has sought the support of the Federal Government to help its members in several ways possible, so as to further grow the economy.
To drive their requests home, the Association held a zoom meeting with the Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Ruqayyah Saraki on Tuesday.
Speaking at the meeting, the FEDAN President, Mrs Eunice Odeghe, stated that the Association which is non-governmental and not for profit, is passionate about promoting human capacity development and skills rejuvenation among the women and youth, and also trains women to be self employed in driving.
She revealed that they have members who are commercial, taxi and Government drivers, adding that being female on the field is not a way of competition with the male folks, but to support the growth of the economy.
Speaking on the challenges they are facing, Odeghe noted that they are presently battling with issues such as; recognition for employment as women, lack of funding for commercial drivers, lack of office space, lack of training, lack of insurance for commercial drivers as well as discrimination on the side of the populace.
According to her, “Recognising us in the area of recruitment as women has been a challenge, we are not trying to compete with men but we are trying to make a living. Also, funding for commercial drivers has not been easy as purchasing vehicles has been a challenge, especially for those that have taken driving as a profession.
“We need office space for our members in state offices, where they can have their meetings, we still need partners to train our women in the area of capacity building because we can’t do without training as women. We need to be retrained to key into Government policies.
“We need policy guidelines from the Ministry which could help our commercial drivers get insurance, and we are looking to see how the Minister’s office can assist to promote the Association. Driving is seen as a male job, so, we want the Government to support us to make our voices heard” she stated.
While noting that their requests are urgent, with a six months time frame, she added that the Association is open to receive partners that can help, especially in the aspect of training.
Also speaking, the Lagos State representative, Nkechi Anyagwa noted that the female drivers in Lagos are interested in earning a living through driving but are also facing the challenge of acceptance by people, and called for help to alleviate the condition which she said is demoralizing.
For her part, Deborah Aigbovorhiuwa from Benin, Edo state, reiterated that most female drivers feel intimidated by their male counterparts. She stressed on the need for the government to help in encouraging and sensitising them on how to go about their businesses as female drivers.
For her part, the Special Adviser, Policy to the Minister of State for Transportation, Titilope Anny who represented the Minister, noted that the Ministry will like to encourage FEDAN, adding that a lot of the problems they are experiencing are societal issues that need to be addressed.
While noting that she will relay the information from the meeting to her boss, she urged the Association to have a database of all its members for proper coordination.