The National Association of Women Judges in Nigeria (NAWJN) on Saturday in Abuja elected Justice Mary Odili of the Supreme Court as its president for the next two years. It was reported that the election was part of the programmes at the biennial conference of the association held in Abuja under the theme ‘Life After The Bench: The Judge Emeritus.’ Odili takes over from Justice Uwani Abba Aji of the Court of Appeal as the new president of the association.
In her acceptance speech, Odili pledged, on behalf of other executive members, to carry all members along in the activities of the association. “We pledge to always do your biddings; to meet the aspirations of our founders and everyone of you; and that our nation, society and families will know that they have trained their daughters to tackle the various problems that afflict our society…We shall make you proud. In doing so, we are anchoring the Lord Almighty to see us through, and lord helping us, we shall not fail you.”
“You will see that our current executives will carry all of us along. All of us will work, all of us will achieve our aims and objectives and all of us will be proud of the outcome. No one will be left behind,” she said.
Odili stated that the judges, particularly the executive members, would put it on record that their first shot would be to make sure that their retired members would come back and fully participate.
She gave assurance that they would look into the welfare and well-being of each and everyone, including both serving and retired members. “We shall carry on in such a way that everyone will hear and appreciate NAWJN activities.”
Meanwhile, Odili’s predecessor, Justice Abba Aji, thanked members for their support and co-operation during her tenure in office.
Newly elected executives included, among others, Justice Kulu Aliyu, Chief Judge of Zamfara, as International Director; Justice Boyo Akintola, Oyo, as Treasurer; and Justice Esther Lolo, as Secretary.
