The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed that his administration paid pregnant women N10,000 each to encourage them to attend antenatal care while he served as governor of Rivers State.
Amaechi said the initiative was introduced as part of efforts to improve maternal and child health in the state, which he said had a poor maternal-child mortality record at the time.
Amaechi served as Rivers State governor from 26 October 2007 to 29 May 2015, completing two terms in office after a Supreme Court ruling brought him to power.
Reflecting on his tenure at the ‘Her Health, Her Power Conference Africa 2026’ in Abuja on Tuesday, the former governor stressed the importance of improving women’s health and access to quality healthcare.
He said his administration built hospitals and deployed doctors to communities across Rivers State as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare services.
Speaking at the conference, Amaechi argued that women’s health could not be separated from the country’s economic situation.
“On the issue of health, you certainly cannot make the female look healthier and stronger if the economy is bad,” he said.
He noted that women play a significant role in Nigeria’s agricultural sector and called on political leaders to do more to improve their wellbeing.
“In a global economy like that of Nigeria, 40 per cent of women are farmers, so we need to do more as politicians to see that women live healthier,” Amaechi said.
The former governor also emphasised the importance of female education, arguing that educating women would help strengthen their leadership capacity.
“No matter how much grammar we speak in our different states as governors, we need to do more for our women, and another thing we need to do is to make sure that they get educated. They make better leaders when they are educated,” he added.
