Florence Ita Giwa was born on 19 February 1946 in Atabong, Bakassi LGA, Cross River State, and attended the Kilburn Polytechnic in London, United
Kingdom. She became a nurse, then a
representative for the Beecham pharmaceutical company, and then moved to Standall Pharmaceutical where she represented Lagos
State. She married Dele Giwa, the founding editor of Newswatch magazine. Her husband was killed
in late 1986 with a parcel bomb.
Ita-Giwa joined politics and emerged as NRC chairman for Delta State. Thereafter, she was elected a member of the federal House of Representatives 1992-93, and was a member of the committee on devolution of power constituent
assembly 1994-95. She became involved in Bakassi affairs, and earned the nickname “Mama Bakassi”. Ita-Giwa was elected Senator for the Cross River South constituency in April 1999 and was appointed to committees on Rules
and Procedures, Environment, Foreign Affairs, Women, Niger Delta and Drug & Narcotics. After leaving the senate in 2003, she joined the People’s Democratic Party PDP, and became
President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. She has proven to be one lady with a resilient spirit despite losing a
husband she has not been deterred.
She turned 69 on the 19th of February 2015.
