Florence Ita Giwa who was born on 19th February, 1946 is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who was the Senator for the Cross River South Senatorial District of

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

. She attended the

Kilburn Polytechnic The College of North West London (CNWL) is a large further education college in north-west London, England. It was established in 1991 by the merger between Willesden Technical College and Kilburn Polytechnic in the London Borough of Brent. Today ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She became a nurse, then a representative for the Beecham pharmaceutical company, and then moved to Standall

Pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

where she represented

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

. She married

Dele Giwa Dele Giwa (16 March 1947 – 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, editor, and founder of '' Newswatch'' magazine. He was murdered when he opened a package containing a bomb at his Ikeja, Lagos residence on October 19, 1986. Early life a ...

, the founding editor of Newswatch magazine. They were married for only ten months, after which Dele Giwa married Olufunmi Olaniyan, who was married to him until his death in 1986. Florence Ita-Giwa joined politics and emerged as NRC chairman for

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

. Thereafter, she was elected a member of the federal

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(1992–93), and was a member of the committee on devolution of power, constituent assembly 1994–95. She became involved in

Bakassi Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River (Nigeria), Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty f ...

affairs, and earned the nickname "Mama Bakassi". 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 The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

and Drug & Narcotics. After leaving the senate in 2003, she joined the People's Democratic Party PDP, and became President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

's Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. 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 The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement and anti-graft agency that investigates financial crimes and unknown transactions such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was establ ...

to investigate the matter. Ita Giwa has worked against human trafficking and sex slavery. She has received the OON (Officer of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

) and The Sun Lifetime Achievement Award.

Personal life

Despite her advance in age, Florence Ita Giwa still has great love for fashion. Her love for expensive jewelries as well as tastefully designed headwear can not be overly emphasized.

References

Living people 1946 births People from Cross River State All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Senators of the 4th National Assembly (Nigeria) Women members of the Senate (Nigeria) 21st-century Nigerian women politicians {{CrossRiverNG-politician-stub