*Dubbed major step to end discrimination against women
Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, on Wednesday, signed into law the Bill that guarantees the right of females to inherit and own property in their father’s family, in the State.
Abia has thus become the first State in the country to have the law fully in place.
The Abia State House of Assembly recently passed the Bill to bring the State in conformity with international best practices of eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.
Ikpeazu, while signing the Bill into Law, said his administration shall lean on the side of reason and common sense in the discharge of its obligations to residents, noting that it has become anachronistic to continue to treat women as second-class citizens even in their families.
The governor thanked the lawmakers for showing courage to pass this Bill, which he hailed as “historic, positively disruptive and capable of setting our society on the path of equal opportunities and sustainable development.”
Ikpeazu further noted that the female inheritance Bill is the most important legislation passed by the State House of Assembly.
He congratulated Abia women for the feat, assuring that the State government will continue to support them.
The proper citation of the Law is THE FEMALE PERSONS RIGHT OF INHERITANCE OF PROPERTY LAW, 2022, while the Long Title of the Law is “A Law to provide for the Right of a Female Person to Inherit and Own Property and for other Matters Connected Therewith.”