Matching its words with action, the Paul Usoro SAN led Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has set up the NBA Women Forum with four distinguished female legal luminaries as the Executives of the forum.
Mr. Usoro SAN made the announcement in a press statement issued on Saturday, September 7, 2019. The four member Executive of the NBA Women Forum would be chaired by Prof. Oluyemisi A Bamgbose, SAN. a frontline Professor of Law at the University of Ibadan and the first female academician to be elevated to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Prof. Bamgbose would be assisted by Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha as the vice Chairperson while Mrs. Nsidibe Aideyan and Hajia Safiya I Balarabe would be the Secretary and the Treasurer respectively.
Speaking on their appointment, Mr. Usoro SAN also announced the appointment of highly distinguished ladies who would act in an advisory capacity to the Executive.
“To assist the Forum’s executive in an advisory capacity, a blue-ribbon Council has been constituted comprising the following eminent ladies: Her Excellency, Anna Isiyaku, First Lady of Taraba State, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, MFR, Special Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, OON, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and activist, Mrs. Dorothy Ufot, SAN, frontline arbitrator, Hajia Hadiza D S Magaji, Chief Registrar, Borno State Judiciary, Mrs. Florence Fiberesima, Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Dr. Foluke Dada, academician, gender activist and NBA 2nd Vice President; and Ms. Ayotola Jagun, Chief Compliance Officer, Oando Plc” he noted.
It would be recalled that at the just concluded 2019 NBA Conference with the theme; Facing the Future”, Gender Equality and Female Empowerment was one of the issues that took the front burner. Speakers advocated among others, the inclusion of women in the board of corporations and the elimination of all forms of gender inequalities.
A fall out of the above discuss, was the NBA’s inclusion in its “Communique” after the conference, recommendations on the need for Government to include gender equality in the Constitution, enact laws that eliminates gender inequalities as well as amend political parties constitutions to enhance Nigeria’s commitment to Gender Equality and Female Empowerment under the Sustainable Development Goal 5.
The establishment of the Women Forum of the NBA is in line with NBA’s recognition of the role of the Bar in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment.
It is expected that like NBA, the Federal Government will take steps to implement the inclusion of gender equality in the Constitution and the amendment of political parties’ constitution to engender gender equality as well as create an environment that discourages all forms of gender based inequalities.
