President of Sierra Leone, Julius Bio, has commended the Nigerian government for supporting the developmental growth, progress and restoration of peace to his country.

Mr Bio said this on Saturday at the Presidential Lodge, Freetown, while welcoming the UN, Angola, Nigeria and other foreign delegates as Sierra Leone commemorated UN World Day.

He said Nigeria was one of the countries that supported Sierra Leone in pushing for a resolution it presented before the United Nations on Nov. 18 to be dedicated to the women and girls who suffered sexual harassment and related menace.

Mr Bio also pointed out that Nigeria’s military assisted the country in winning wars until peace was restored in the nation.

“At this juncture, I want to say thank you to everyone who made this day possible; a year ago, Sierra Leone proposed to the United Nations a resolution declaring Nov. 18 as the world day to recognise the victims of sexual exploitation and violence.

“That resolution was jointly supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria and supported by many other members of states around the world; we are therefore grateful to Nigeria and all other countries that supported the resolution.

He further spoke about the efforts his government had championed about issues affecting women and the girl child, including using the country’s judiciary to pursue some of the causes through the enactment of the law on gender equality.

Also, the President’s wife, Fatima Bio, appreciated Nigeria and the first lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, for joining them in marking the first anniversary of the UN World Day Against Rape and Girl-Child Exploitation celebrated on Saturday.

“We have a lot of people here today, we have compatriots from all over the world but I want to specially thank the woman who helped me see pain in a different dimension.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my new big sister, the First Lady of Nigeria; Nigeria is Sierra Leone’s big brother.

“As we have the first lady of Nigeria with us, it’s a big deal to us because Nigeria has helped Sierra Leone in everything that we have gone through, including war, because Nigeria fought alongside Sierra Leoneans to help in bringing peace to our country.

“Therefore, Ma, having you with us here is not a mistake and I want you to know that I am so honoured to have you here in our midst, your example is what women should emulate.”

(NAN)