Rita Akpan (born 28 September 1944) is a

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

teacher who was Federal Minister of Women affairs in the cabinet of President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...

between July 2003 and June 2005.

Background

Rita Akpan was born on 28 September 1944 in

Akwa-Ibom Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe R ...

State. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Languages and a Master of Art in Education from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, Eugene,

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Career

From 1968 to 1986, Rita worked with the American International School,

Victoria Island, Lagos Victoria Island (VI) is an affluent area that encompasses a former island of the same name neighbouring Lagos Island, Ikoyi and the Lekki Peninsula by the Lagos Lagoon. It is the main business and financial centre of Lagos State, Nigeria. ...

and the Federal Ministry of Education. She served as Head of French Department, Federal Government Girls' College, Calabar, Federal Inspector of French Language and later as Vice Principal, Federal Government Girls College, Calabar. Akpan was once a secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government during the first tenure of the Governor

Victor Attah Obong Victor Bassey Attah (born 20 November 1938) was Governor of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), but has since joined the All Progr ...

administration. She was also a cabinet member during the first civilian administration of She was appointed Special Adviser on Information and Culture to the Akwa-Ibom State Governor in 1992. She also served as State Commissioner for Education in 1993 and Secretary to State Government, Akwa-Ibom State, between 1999 and 2000.

Minister of Women Affairs

In October 2004, during a workshop on the socio-economic implications of human trafficking and child labour, Akpan noted that Nigeria was the first and only country in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

to enact an anti-human trafficking act. In January 2005, Akpan introduced the second periodic report on Nigeria to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Committee on the Rights of the Child The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also monitors the Convention's three optional protoc ...

. She said Nigeria had taken concrete steps toward the Rights of the Child Convention since it had presented its initial report. She was reported to have fallen from favor with President Obasanjo as being an associate of Akwa Ibom Governor

, with whom Obasanjo had a disagreement. She was dropped from the cabinet in June 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akpan, Rita 1944 births Living people People from Akwa Ibom State Federal ministers of Nigeria 21st-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian women politicians Women government ministers of Nigeria