Your emergence as Unical VC is a reward for academic excellence, Minister of Women Affairs tells Professor Florence Banku Obi
The Minister of Women Affairs, Her Excellency, Pauline Tallen, has congratulated Prof. Obi on her appointment as the 11th VC of the University of Calabar, describing her emergence as a reward for academic excellence.
Tallen, a former Deputy Governor of Plateau state, who received the VC designate in her home in Abuja, said that the news of Prof. Obi’s victory did not come to her as a surprise, noting that she was eminently qualified for the top job, judging by her towering academic credentials and public service positions she has held.
The Minister, who is dogged and passionately committed to advancing the course of women, described Prof. Obi as an “Amazon” and a pride to womanhood.
Her Excellency was at the forefront of drumming support from women groups and some top government officials which include Ministers and others in support of Prof. Obi.
Some of the Women Groups include; the National Council of Women Societies led by Dr Gloria Shoda and the President of Medical Women International, headed by Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi, who is the first Nigerian woman to be so elected. These women joined the minister to lobby support for Prof. Obi, thus changing the myth that women are their own enemies and hate themselves.
Pauline, who has a humble background, delved into politics in 1976 and was appointed Minister of State for Science and Technology in 1999, becoming the first woman to be appointed as a Minister in that capacity by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
In 2007, she became the Deputy Governor of Plateau State and the first woman to be a Deputy Governor in Northern Nigeria.
She also contested to be governor of the state in 2011, but lost to Jonah Jang. She is presently a member, Board of Trustees of All Progressive Congress, and was honoured as Woman of the year for her contribution to Nigeria at the 10th African Icon of Our Generation Award.
