Her Excellency, Joke Orelope-Adefulire, Lagos State Deputy Governor
Adie Vanessa Offiong, Amina Alhassan & Maryam Rufai
Hon. Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, 55, is an administrator, social worker, politician and princess from a royal family in Lagos State. Described as simple in outlook, and self-effacing in her interactions, she has to her credit, a long history of great achievements through her passion, commitment and dedication to public service.
Orelope-Adefulire has over the past 20 years, carved a niche for herself as an accomplished grassroots politician with a passion for the emancipation of the womenfolk and youth development, especially girl-child education.
Her passion and determination to render quality public service that will impact the lives of the people, especially vulnerable members of the society, saw her being elected member of the Lagos State House of Assembly during the third republic when she represented Alimosho Constituency 1, between 1992 and 1993.
In 1999, she was appointed Electoral Commissioner in Lagos State; a position she held until 2003 when she was appointed Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation by the then governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It was a choice which former governor Babatunde Fashola, his successor, found equally appropriate and quite in line with the proverbial a round peg in a round hole and re-appointed her due to her track record as a transformational achiever during her first term as commissioner.
Popularly called ‘Iya Alanu’ (cheerful giver), she has introduced several poverty alleviation programmes and has received several awards locally and internationally. She was awarded the International Public Servant of the Year 2007 award by the Scottish Widows; a UK-based NGO and bagged the Lagos State Man of the Year award in 2009. She received the Daisey George Award 2010 in the USA as an advocate of children’s protection and development.
The Lagos State deputy governor is also a recipient of the Guinness World Records for the most children reading aloud with an adult at a single location, which she achieved while reading with 4,222 school children in 2011.