Governor Bassey Otu, is speaking up strongly, advocating for gender-focused governance, as Cross River State hosts no fewer than 22 wives of State Governors from across the country.
The First Ladies are in Calabar for the 2025 annual retreat of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum.
Receiving the Governors’ wives at the State Executive Chambers, Governor Otu praised their collective impact on social welfare and public health, describing women as “the backbone of national development.”
He highlighted his administration’s policies such as the six-month paid maternity leave for female civil servants and ongoing improvements in primary healthcare infrastructure.
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The Governor noted that Cross River State has recorded major gains in immunisation and nutrition outcomes due to increased investment in the primary healthcare system and the training of frontline health workers.
At the end of the retreat, Chairperson of the Forum and First Lady of Kwara State, Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq, presented the communiqué, outlining resolutions on the full domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition, VAPP Act, expansion of survivor support services, ending child labour and renewed advocacy for the Reserved Seats for Women Bill.
In her appreciation message, the host and wife of the Cross River State Governor, Eyoanwan Otu, thanked the Forum for choosing Calabar and pledged continued support for programmes that uplift women, children, and vulnerable households.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
