Our History
Evolution of the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum
In June 2020, at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, Nigerian Governors’ Wives came together to establish a forum known as Nigerian Governors Wives against Gender Based Violence (NGWA-GBV). What started as a small working group for interested Governors spouses has now become a flagship program of the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum, with all Governors’ spouses involved.
One of the first things we did as NGWA-GBV in 2020 was to approach the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and request that they declare a State of Emergency against Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Nigeria, which was done on June 10th 2020. HE President Muhammadu Buhari also supported the calls for urgent action through the establishment of an inter-ministerial Presidential Task Force on Sexual and Gender Based Violence.
The Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum is pleased to note that the expedited action promised by the Governors and the advocacy efforts of Governors’ Spouses, has yielded significant results. In June 2020 when the State of Emergency was declared, only fourteen States had domesticated the VAPP Act. As of April 2024, 36 States (including the FCT) have passed the law.
The Achievement of the Forum from Inception
The year 2023 has seen the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum expand the scope of our interventions, amplify our advocacies and deepen our engagements, collaborations and partnerships.
While some members were welcomed in to the fold in the second quarter of the year, this did not hamper the progress of the work of the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum in the affected States as the new first ladies came in eager and committed to continuing where their predecessors left off.
This was given a light foot however, through the induction and training session held for the new first ladies and the publications of the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum designed to guide the conduct of members presented to them during the induction exercise and other such trainings that were held in this regard.
Being the flagship programme of the Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum, advocacies on the mitigation of Sexual and Gender Based Violence were amplified and sustained during ...
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