Contrary to what obtained in the past, women in politics are not leaving any stone unturned in proving their worth, breaking records and leaving their footprints on the golden shores of time.
There are currently four female deputy governors in the country, and they have shown that they can handle the jobs as well as their male counterparts. More importantly, they have shown that they can be as efficient as their male counterparts, and can handle even bigger responsibilities, such as the presidency. FAITH AJAYI takes a look at these women making their gender proud
Noimot Salako-Oyedele (Ogun State)
Born on January 8, 1967, the incumbent deputy governor of Ogun State, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, is from Ota, in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state. Her father, Lateef Salako, was a professor emeritus of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Ibadan.
Noimot studied Civil Engineering at the University of Lagos, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology London, United Kingdom.
Noimot started her career in the United Kingdom, where she served as a graduate engineer and project manager at Ove Arup and Partners. She also worked as the Managing Director of NOS Nigeria Limited from 1995 to 2014. In 2014, she was appointed as the General Manager, Business Development of Grenadines Homes Limited, before becoming the Acting Managing Director of the same company in 2015.
However, she later moved to Glenwood Property Development Company Limited in November 2015, as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer; a position she held till she ventured into politics and emerged the Ogun State deputy governorship candidate in 2018.
With over 30 years experience in the consulting, contracting and real estate sectors, Noimot has been on the board of several companies in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
On May 29, 2019, she was sworn in as deputy governor alongside the governor of the state, Dapo Abiodun.
Despite her political career, Noimot is also a staunch Muslim. While speaking at the inaugural launch of the Magodo Phase II Muslim Association in Lagos State, she urged the association to lift people out of poverty by investing more in education. She said “I want the association to take people out of poverty and not just feed them once a week. If you feed somebody once a week, what will they do for the remaining six days of the week? Do they just go to other associations and beg for food?
“We have to standardise Islamiyah so that Muslim children can have good Islamic education, while we also make sure they get the best Western education.”
Over the years, she has emphasised her belief in public health improvements, affordable shelter, capacity development, equal opportunities, and safe environments as major foundations upon which the sustainable development of Ogun State should be anchored.
She is happily married to an APC chieftain and a retired permanent secretary in the Lagos State Civil Service, Bode Oyedele. She is also an active member of the prestigious Lions Club.
Cecilia Ezeilo (Enugu State)
Though a lawyer, Cecilia Ezeilo worked as a producer and presenter at the Enugu State Broadcasting Service before joining politics.
She was first elected to the Enugu State Assembly in 2011 to represent Ezeagu constituency. While in the House, she was the Deputy Chief Whip and Chairman of the Judiciary, Ethics and Privileges committee. Due to the quality representation she offered her constituents, she was re-elected for another term in office
As the chairman of the judiciary committee, she adopted the alternative dispute resolution mechanism as a faster and better means of resolving public disputes arising from the numerous public petitions sent to her committee.
The legislature and judiciary in the state were also said to have enjoyed a harmony working relationship as separate arms of government.
Ezeilo’s motherly instincts might have inspired a motion she moved for a bill to catering for people with special needs.
She also moved a motion for the resuscitation of the moribund cashew industry, as a panacea to rising unemployment among women and youths of the state. Because of the increase in auto crashes in the state at that time, she also moved a motion that sought to ensure drivers underwent driving examinations before they were issued drivers’ licenses.
During the 2015 gubernatorial election, the-then governorship candidate of Enugu State, Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi, chose her as his running mate. They both ran under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party and won the election. They were sworn into office on May 29, 2015.
Ezeilo is not just the first female deputy governor in the history of the state, she was also the first female to represent Ezeagu constituency in the state’s House of Assembly.
She is a strong supporter of the women’s transformation agenda in the state, which aims to elevate women from doing only domestic chores to being economically emancipated.
Aside from her leadership qualities which have helped her to excel in her political career, she is also a beautiful woman. Whenever she appears in public, she makes sure she looks good. Most times, she adorns native attire, which reflect her love for her culture and tradition. Her light skin colour also complements her love for red lipstick.
She was born in Amokwe, Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. She was once married to the late Malachy Ezeilo, who was the traditional ruler of Ozom Aguobu Owa in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State and a one-time Commissioner for Works and Housing in the old Anambra State. He was also the Chairman of the Rural Electrification Board under Governor Jim Nwobodo.
Hadiza Balarabe (Kaduna State)
Born on August 26, 1966, in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the deputy governor of Kaduna State, Hadiza Balarabe, had her elementary education at Demonstration Primary School in the Kagoro area of the state. She went on to Government Girls Secondary School (now Government Girls Science Secondary School) Soba.
She later studied Medicine at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, and graduated in 1988. She did her internship (housemanship) at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, from 1988-1989. Her one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme was observed at the Police Clinic, Owerri, Imo State.
She also attended the West African Postgraduate Medical College and became a member of the West African College of Physicians in Community Health. She earned the Fellowship of the Medical College in Public Health from the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.
As a registered public health physician and consultant, she has more than two decades of practice in the public health sector. She started her career in 1990 as a Medical Officer/Senior Medical Officer I and II at Wuse General Hospital, Abuja, where she served for seven years. She then moved to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, as a Senior House Officer/Registrar, later becoming the Senior Registrar.
She returned to Abuja as the Principal Medical Officer (Epidemiology) in the Department of Public Health from April 2004 to June 2005. In 2014, Balarabe became the Director of Public Health in the federal capital territory.
She was later appointed as the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency by Governor Nasir El-Rufai in February 2016. In 2018, El-Rufai nominated Balarabe as his running mate for the 2019 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. On May 29, 2019, she was sworn in as the first female deputy governor of the state.
On October 15, 2019, while standing in for her boss, she presented the state’s 2020 Budget of Renewal to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, thereby becoming the first woman in Northern Nigeria to do so.
Also in April 2020, the medical doctor warned the general public against Internet scammers who were using her office to defraud people. A statement she issued read in part, “This is to notify the general public to be wary of the activities of fraudsters who are operating fake Facebook accounts using the name of the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, to scam people.
“Some of these fake accounts are asking people to provide their bank account details, and promising to provide them with financial empowerment.”
In 2022, she nursed the ambition of succeeding El-Rufai, but she later dropped out of the race. She was later chosen as a running mate to the ‘consensus’ APC gubernatorial candidate, Uba Sani.
In December 2022, she was awarded a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for her exemplary achievements in her career as a public health physician and public office holder in the state.
Balarabe has a conservative fashion style. However, she not only represents the north in her dressing but the west (Yoruba) as well. Her admirers have also described her smile as ‘contagious’.
She is a member of several professional bodies, including Nigeria Medical Association, Association of Public Health Physicians, Society for Public Health Practitioners in Nigeria, and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, FCT Chapter.
Ipalibo Banigo (Rivers State)
A medical doctor, politician and the first female Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Ipalibo Banigo was born on December 20, 1952, to the Harry family of Obuama in the Degema area of the state.
For her secondary education, she attended the prestigious Queens College in Lagos State. Being a brilliant and conscientious student, she was awarded prizes for her academic excellence in Chemistry, Biology and English Literature. Also in 1968, she won the British Broadcasting Corporation award for student poetry.
While in secondary school, she was also named the Best All-Round Student of the Year (1969/1970).
She went on to obtain a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University College Hospital, Ibadan. She subsequently attended Harvard University’s School of Public Health for a Master’s degree in Public Health. Between 1990 and 1992, she obtained diplomas in Tropical Hygiene, and Dermatology from the University of London, UK.
Banigo started her career at the Rivers State Port Health Service, where she served as the Registrar of Births and Senior Medical Officer-in-Charge. She also worked as an honorary consultant dermatologist at the University of Port Harcourt, after which she became the principal of the Rivers State School of Health Technology. During her stint at the Rivers State Ministry of Health, she held different offices, including Director of Public Health Services, Acting Commissioner for Health, Director-General and Permanent Secretary.
She also served as the Head of Service, and later Secretary to the State Government.
In 2009, the then Rivers State governor, Chibuike Amaechi, approved the inauguration of a committee on the implementation of free healthcare scheme in a bid to ensure that people of the state enjoyed free medical services. Banigo was a member of the committee and she made several valuable contributions to it.
Upon retiring from the public sector, Banigo continued to provide professional services and was later appointed as the Public Health Adviser of Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria. Additionally, she held the offices of both Executive Director, and Secretary at the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
In December 2014, she was chosen to be the running mate of Governor Nyesom Wike in the 2015 election under the People’s Democratic Party. With her election, she became the first female Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
On September 20, 2020, she was appointed as the chairperson of a seven-man panel inaugurated by Wike to activate some moribund health facilities in the state.
On April 29, 2021, she was among the health consultants present at a colloquium organised by St Racheal’s Pharmaceuticals Nigeria to commemorate the 2021 World Malaria Day held in Lagos. The colloquium witnessed the presentation of strategies on how to achieve a zero-malaria environment in Nigeria in the next 10 years.
She is a member of several bodies, such as the governing council of the University of Calabar, governing board of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Rivers State Food and Nutrition Committee, Rivers State Hospital Management Board and Reference Board. She was also appointed as the Project Director of the United Nations Population Fund and United Nations Children’s Fund.
Banigo’s husband, Owen, was the first indigenous urological surgeon in the state, who initiated the Urology Unit of the Department of Surgery at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
