𝙊𝙨𝙪𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙈𝙧𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙡𝙖 𝘼𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 3𝙧𝙙 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙊𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙠𝙞 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 (𝘽𝙊𝙒𝙁𝙏) 𝙞𝙣 𝙀𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚

 𝙊𝙨𝙪𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙈𝙧𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙡𝙖 𝘼𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 3𝙧𝙙 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙊𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙠𝙞 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 (𝘽𝙊𝙒𝙁𝙏) 𝙞𝙣 𝙀𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚

Wife of the Osun State Governor, Her Excellency, Chief Mrs Titilola Adeleke alongside other wives of the Nigeria Governors graced the third

edition of Besty Obaseki Women Football Tournament (BOWFT - 2023) in Benin City, Edo State. 

The Besty Obaseki women football tournaments is an initiative of Edo State First Lady, Mrs Besty Obaseki in addressing various challenges confronting the female gender. As part of the programme, a seminar was held at the Edo state hotel conference hall to provide indepth insights into the perils of gender-based violence and spotlight the effects.

The 2023 BOWFT themed; "Stop Gender-Based Violence" is aimed at raising awareness and generating public interest to the urgent need to eradicate gender-based violence in all its forms in Edo state and Nigeria at large.

In her welcome address, Her Excellency, Mrs  Besty Obaseki, the First Lady of Edo state appreciates the Nigeria Governor's wives for their tireless efforts and various developmental strides in ensuring a better and liveable society for the young girls in their different states. She noted that the competition is the foremost preseason tournament of Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) featuring top women football clubs across the country, and a platform to identify and harness the special gift from the young lads.

According to her, gender-based violence can happen in both the private and public spheres and it affects women disproportionately. Gender-based violence can be sexual, physical, verbal, psychological (emotional), or socio-economic and it can take many forms, from verbal violence and hate speech on the Internet to rape and or murder.

In their separate remarks, the Chairperson, Nigeria Governor's Wives Forum, Board of Trustees, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, Edo state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, Hon Commissioner for education, Joan Osa Oviawe all applauded the initiative of Besty Obaseki, this will showcase the potential of the girls and provide them an opportunity exhibit their talents and ultimately serves as an awareness to further sensitize and educate the girls and indeed the public on the effects of gender-based violence.

Highlight of the event was the official commissioning of GBV. VIVIAN CENTER (Edo State Sexual Assault Reference Center) by Mrs Bisi Fayemi. The yearly event came to an end as the host, Edo Queens crowned champions of the Third Edition of BOWFT 2023 while Bayelsa Queens and Delta Queens won silver and bronze respectively. 

The event was attended by the wives of Nigeria Governors across the 36 states, Edo State government functionaries and other members of the board of trustees include Mrs Dame Edith Okowa (Delta), Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu (Abia), Mrs Linda Ayade (Cross River) Mrs Bolanle Ambode (Lagos), Mrs Serifat Aregbesola (Osun), Mrs Olufunso Amosun (Ogun) and Mrs Kafayat Oyetola (Osun), Mrs Florence Ajimobi (Oyo), Mrs Mairo Almakura (Nassarawa), Mrs Monica Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Mrs Zainab Bagudu (Kebbi) among others.

https://tinyurl.com/43xswe7x