Wives of South East and South governors have called on spouses to write wills, stating how their property\u00a0 should be shared in the event of death.<\/p>\n
The wives of the governors, made the call in a communiqu\u00e9 issued after the first National Widowhood Summit, held in Uyo from July 15 to July 16.<\/p>\n
The communique was signed by the wife of the Cross River Governor and facilitator of the summit, Mrs Obioma Imoke.<\/p>\n
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit was held to commemorate the 2013 Widows Day.<\/p>\n
The theme of the summit is: \u201cLouder Please!: A Call for Increased Advocacy Action and Interventions on Widows Rights in Nigeria\u201d.<\/p>\n
The communiqu\u00e9 said that men should make effort to update their employment, insurance and other relevant records to reflect their spouse as next of kins.<\/p>\n
The governors’ wives also appealed to government to formulate a policy on widowhood rights.<\/p>\n
They said that the legislative arm of government needed to review current laws protecting widows.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur traditional rulers as the custodians of our culture need to review all traditional practices that subject widows to indignities.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaws should be made to protect the rights of widows. The laws should criminalise all forms of unhealthy and abusive practices against widows in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunities should continue to promote those values that encourage the care of the less-privileged and the vulnerable, including widows.\u201d<\/p>\n
The communiqu\u00e9 said that opportunities should be provided for widows to acquire skills in vocations that guaranteed their employment and income generation.<\/p>\n
It said that there was need for massive enlightenment of stakeholders on harmful cultural practices and the need to address such practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe enlightenment programme should be a collaborative effort between the office of the wife of the governor, ministry of women affairs, Houses of Assembly, civil society organisations, churches and traditional institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is need for more research to gain information and data to give increased visibility to widowhood issues in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll states of the federation should ensure that bills protecting the rights of widows are passed and enforced accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The communiqu\u00e9 said that states should ensure the provision of legal aid to assist widows and creation of widows’ welfare funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWidows should be encouraged to form cooperatives and networks at both local and state levels as such networks provide opportunities for peer learning, mentorship and advocacy,\u201d it added. (NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wives of South East and South governors have called on spouses to write wills, stating how their property\u00a0 should be shared in the event of death. The wives of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n