Girl-Child Day: Vigc, Leads Stakeholders To Advocate Gender Education, Empowerment As Panacea To Teenage Pregnancy In Bayelsa State
Dr. Gloria Diri, the First Lady of Bayelsa State, has appealed to mothers and guardians of teenage girls to take active interest in the growth, education, and moral upbringing of their children as a critical step to ending child marriage and securing the future of the girl child.
Dr. Diri made the appeal as a special guest of honor at the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child celebration organized by the Voice of the Ijaw Girl Child (VIJGC) in partnership with the Stemick Skars Foundation, formerly Gloria Diri Foundation, as lead partner.
The event with the theme “Empowering Her Future: End Child Marriage, Invest in Girls’ Rights,” was held during the weekend at the Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Dr. Diri emphasized that mothers are the first line of defense in safeguarding girls against early marriage, peer pressure, drug abuse, and other vices, while also encouraging girls to be bold and speak up when their rights are being threatened:
“We are very grateful to God for this wonderful celebration of the girl child, 2026. Every girl child has spoken. Their voices are very loud and clear. They are saying that there should no longer be early marriage. Your daughter is your walking stick at old age, and so support her, educate her, empower her.
“That is the cry of the girl child, and that is what I stand for. And so to every girl child, I want you to know that your succeeding is you, and so take your life into your hands.”
In their separate remarks, Dr. Antonia Ganah, grand patron and keynote speaker, and Dr. Bumak Tonye Mieyabei Esq., chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Bayelsa State chapter, stressed the need for parents and all stakeholders to create safe spaces for girls to speak up and report abuse, while noting that the girl child has equal rights in family and society.
They also charged girls to stay focused on their future aspirations and shun drug abuse, premarital sex, and bad company capable of derailing their dreams.
“You have to have self-confidence before you can challenge society. And that self-confidence is put in a girl child from her parents and her social network.”
“She has a right education, investing in that right, that should be protected from any form of violence, either sexual, verbal, physical, emotional, whatever violence you keep that environment safe for the girl child to thrive. That is investing in her right education. The home should be a safe place where the girl can be herself.”
Earlier, in her address, Mrs. Timi Prayer Tubi, the convener and executive director of VIGC, said every young girl, regardless of her background or circumstance, deserves an opportunity to learn, grow, and discover her potential and become whatever she aspires to be.
Emphasizing this year’s theme, Mrs. Tubi noted that the future of the girl child must be deliberately protected, nurtured, and invested in, adding that behind every challenge, their girls had dreams.
She also expressed appreciation to the event partners and to all guests who graced the occasion. According to her:
“For me, I’m bringing the theme back home. The world is celebrating the girl child. That is the general theme, investing in the girl’s tribe. But that is not what is affecting us in the Niger Delta. It’s more of teenage pregnancy leading to early child marriage.
“Poverty is the root cause of teenage pregnancy, and that is what affects us. So we have to bring the message home. See a young girl, 13 years or 14, maybe a first daughter, and her mom is already giving the burden or responsibilities to their teenage girls to carry.
“So and our parents should be able to be responsible for our children. So I’m encouraging every young girl child to go to school, if you can’t get to school get a skill.”
The event featured goodwill messages and inspirational talks by prominent speakers and distinguished guests of honor, including Professor Bodiseria Tayboye, lecturer at the Federal University of Otuoke, Bayelsa State; Dr. Pelesai Fostina, lecturer, public health nurse, and professional epidemiologist; and Mrs. Kemilayefa Okigigi, former Bayelsa State governorship candidate.
Other dignitaries present were Honorable Nengi Rufus Spiff, immediate past MD of Isoko Microfinance Bank; Honorable Jonah Gigi, Commissioner of Women Affairs, Empowerment, and Social Development, Bayelsa State; Comrade Adaku Ayibakuro, National Women Leader, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide; and Mrs. Grace Oruameyeofa, Chairperson, Bayelsa State chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), among others.
The high point of the event was a cultural presentation by various schools in Bayelsa State, the official unveiling and distribution of a book titled A Loud Cry, authored by Dr. Gloria Diri, as well as the distribution of sanitary pads to pupils.
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