Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, the immediate past Governor of Abia State, has revealed that he played a pivotal role in passing a law that ensures female children can inherit their fathers’ property and possess community land in the state.
According to Vanguard, Ikpeazu stated this during the Gender and Inclusion Summit organized by the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Abuja, where he highlighted his commitment to women’s development, acknowledging his wife’s influential role in the legislation empowering female children to inherit property.
He emphasized that the law grants female children rights to land ownership, deviating from traditional customs that previously impeded their land ownership in communities.
“Today in Abia State, female children can now inherit their fathers’ property. Now it’s an offence for female children not to be allocated land. The female children can now inherit their fathers’ property” he accentuated.
Ikpeazu further recalled signing a law that opposes the discrimination of disabled persons, mandating all houses in Abia State to include ramps for easy access by the disabled.
He noted that this legislative action significantly expands women’s access to farmlands, enabling them to use these lands as collateral for business loans—a significant departure from past practices in the state.
Speakers at the summit called for the replication of such laws in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to ensure gender equality and inclusivity nationwide.
Mr. Udeme Ufot, the Chairman of the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), stressed the importance of the Gender and Inclusion Summit, advocating for inclusive approaches to address barriers to quality education, job opportunities, and access to health services for
