First Lady of Cross River State, Nigeria To Keynote Luncheon At NGOS International conference in Rockville, MD.

First Lady of Cross River State, Nigeria, Mrs. Obioma Liyel Imoke will participate in the upcoming Conference of the International Association of African NGOS. The conference is scheduled for September 5-7, 2013 at the Hilton Hotels and Resort, Rockville, MD.A Lawyer, she will be the keynote speaker for the Luncheon on Saturday, September 7, 2013. She will speak on “The role of NGOS in the economic development of Africa”.

A hard working people oriented achiever, her name Obioma, meaning “good heart,” symbolizes her humanitarian activities- NGO called POWER (Partnership Opportunities for Women Empowerment Realization), a not for profit organization for the empowerment of women and creating pathways to A Society Fit for a Child (ASFAC),while ensuring that all Mothers are Against Child Abandonment (MACA), and when a child is abandoned, he or she can get resettled at a home called Destiny Child Center (DCC) for reintegration and rehabilitation. She also has ambitions of setting up a cancer research institute. Her favorite quote is “there are no illegitimate children, rather there are illegitimate parents”.

Her work has been recognized internationally. She was recently invited by United Nations Secretary General, Ba Ki Moon to participate in a United Nations conference on education. She was recently appointed Education Ambassador by Mrs. Gordon Brown, wife of the former British Prime Minister. Her appointment as education Ambassador was based on her role in ensuring that Cross River State children have access to free and compulsory education, for taking vulnerable children into resettlement homes and ensuring that each and every child is given equal opportunity to go back to school and for establishing the only American International School outside Lagos and Abuja.

Cross River State is a coastal state located in Southeastern Nigeria. Known as “The Peoples Paradise”, it has a population of over 3.8 million people, a per capita of about $3,000 and a GDP of over 12 billion dollars. Blessed with a long coastline, abundant water resources, an international airport and rich arable land, it is a state primed for industrialization. The state is a tourist haven and an investment paradise. The annual Calabar Carnival has been called 'Africa's largest street party”. The famous Tinapa Business Resort is located in Cross River State. Efik language is predominant but English is the language of business. Most of the people are Christians and traditional African religionists. In terms of security, it is the safest state in the country and its capital, Calabar, is one of the cleanest cities in the country. Large deposits of limestone, kaolin, graphite, manganese and tin exist in the state. Institutions of higher learning include the University of Calabar and Cross River State University of Technology.

For further information about registration and speakers, call Joyce Halliday at 240-338-6445 or email at [email protected].