Former Ambassador to Ethiopia Nkoyo Toyo sets eyes on Cross River State

Nkoyo Esu Toyo is a lawyer and politician who is running for governor in Cross River State, under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and so far, is the only female governorship aspirant for the Cross River State elections.

Education and Career

Nkoyo Toyo graduated from Union Secondary School in 1974 and went ahead to study law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Kaduna in 1975. In 1980, Nkoyo Toyo graduated from the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar Association. She then obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of Lagos in 1994.

In 2001, Nkoyo was granted the Chevening Scholarship to study at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex,where she received a Masters in Governance for her work in advancing the status of women in Nigerian public life,  From 2020 to 2021, she received a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow.

As a politician, she has served as the former ambassador of Nigeria to Ethiopia and Djibouti. She has also served in the House of Representatives where she represented the Calabar/Odukpani Federal Constituency.

An advocate of women’s rights, she is the founder of Gender and Development Action, a social enterprise that she started to advocate for women in governance.

She has held several international positions such as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Montreal International Forum.

In March 2018, along with some former Ministers of Women Affairs, she put plans in place to rekindle the Nigerian Women’s Movement.  Miss Toyo is also one of the conveners of the “10 Thousand Women’s March” in Abuja, organized by the Women4Women (W4W) He4She movement to address issues affecting women. 

Campaign

In February, Nkoyo Toyo declared her interest in leading Cross River State. She stated that with her Local, National and International Networks, she more than has the Competence and experience to Recover, Reset and Reposition Cross River State.

In her declaration speech, the former House of Representatives Member pointed out that Sustainability, Critical Infrastructure, Human Capital Development, Economic Growth and Security make up the Pillars of her Campaign come 2023.