Idris Ahmed, Lokoja.

Minister of State, (FCT), Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has advised the Miss University Africa Pageant contestants to use the platform to revive the culture, values, norms, and the promotion of tourism and empowerment of women in the continent.

A Press release signed by Austin Elemue, Special Assistant to the Minister, said the call was made at the official unveiling of delegates to the 9th edition on decent culture, promoting African unity, tourism, and empowering the African women organized by the African Personality Forum in partnership with the FCT Social Development Secretariat.

According to the release, Aliyu also advocated that the beauty queens drawn from 55 African countries, should form a movement that would galvanize other African women, not just towards the promotion of African values, but also for the continent to remain one indivisible entity.

The Special Assistant quoted the Minister as saying, “we are here today to pass a message. We have about 55 African countries coming together to speak about empowering the African woman, to speak about the revival of the African culture, to speak about discouraging indecent dressing in Africa, to speak about promoting tourism.

“It is a worthy course to put the African countries together again and again and again. And whenever the opportunity avail itself I will still repeat just what we are doing today.

“It is beyond putting together girls from 55 African countries. It is a movement, a movement beyond today’s event. It is a movement to curb indecent dressing, and the mere fact that these young girls across universities in Africa came together to participate is quite commendable,”

She however commended the beauty queens for their active role in the cleaning of Asokoro District Hospital, stressing that their exemplary leadership has shown the decency the African woman is known for.

Minister Aliyu therefore, called on the prospective winner of the contest to ensure that the message of this year’s edition resonates across Africa, while calling on other contestants to carry all the good cultures, attributes, conducts required of an African Woman back to their respective countries.

Earlier, the Secretary FCT Social Development Secretariat, Mrs. Hadiza Mohammed Kabir, assured the delegates of their safety, even as she called on them to explore ways and other areas of synergy to deepen the existing relationships that bind Africans together.

The Secretary also assured the delegates that investments opportunities abound in the Federal Capital Territory while calling on them to explore and communicate the same to their respective countries.

Recall that delegates were drawn from 55 African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Algeria, Botswana, Congo, Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Liberia amongst others.