Florence Ita Giwa

Florence Ita Giwa
Senator from Cross River South
In office
29 May 1999 – June 2003
Succeeded byBassey Henshaw
Personal details
Born (1946-02-19) 19 February 1946 (age 78)
Cross River State, Nigeria
Political partyPeople's Democratic Party
SpouseDele Giwa
Children1 (Daughter, Koko, foster children, son Kingsley Oba)
Alma materKilburn Polytechnic
AwardsOrder of the Niger
Nickname'Mama Bakassi'

Florence Ita Giwa listenⓘ (born 19 February 1946) is a Nigerian politician, who was the Senator for the Cross River South Senatorial District of Cross River State.

She attended the Kilburn Polytechnic in London, United Kingdom.[1] She became a nurse, then a representative for the Beecham pharmaceutical company, and then moved to Standall Pharmaceutical where she represented Lagos State.[2] She married Dele Giwa, the founding editor of Newswatch magazine.[1] They were married for only ten months, after which Dele Giwa married Olufunmi Olaniyan, who was married to him until his death in 1986.[3]

Ita-Giwa joined politics and emerged as NRC chairman for Delta State. Thereafter, she was elected a member of the federal House of Representatives (1992–93),[4] and was a member of the committee on devolution of power, constituent assembly 1994–95.[1] She became involved in Bakassi affairs, and earned the nickname "Mama Bakassi".[2] Ita-Giwa was elected Senator for the Cross River South constituency in April 1999 and was appointed to committees on Rules and Procedures, Environment, Foreign Affairs, Women, Niger Delta and Drug & Narcotics.[5]

After leaving the senate in 2003, she joined the People's Democratic Party PDP, and became President Olusegun Obasanjo's Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters.[3] In May 2010, there were rumors that funds were missing from the account of the Bakassi Resettlement Committee, chaired by Ita Giwa, who asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the matter.[6]

Ita Giwa has worked against human trafficking and sex slavery.[7]

She has received the OON (Officer of the Order of the Niger) and The Sun Lifetime Achievement Award.[8]

  1. ^ a b c "Florence Ita Giwa". Online Nigeria. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  2. ^ a b Ruth Osime (2004-03-06). "Florence Ita-Giwa: 'I am one of the boys'". ThisDay. Archived from the original on 2005-01-26. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  3. ^ a b Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye (2007-05-31). "Florence Ita-Giwa: What Next?". Nigerians in America. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  4. ^ Encomium Magazine
  5. ^ "Congressional Committees". Nigeria Congress. Archived from the original on 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  6. ^ Ladidi Yunisa (25 May 2010). "Missing Bakassi Resettlement Funds: Ita Giwa Urges Efcc To Investigate". Galaxy TV. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  7. ^ "Florence Ita-Giwa's commitment". This Day. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Florence Ita-Giwa: Mama Bakassi At 73". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2019-05-09.