THE Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has confirmed Mrs. Valerie Ebe as the first femaleDeputy Governor of the state.
She replaces Mr. Nsima Ekere, who resigned from office on Wednesday to stave off impeachment.
The new deputy governor, aged about 57, was formally a Commissioner for Environment, as well as Culture and Tourism under the present administration of Governor Godswill Akpabio.
Mrs. Ebe, the founder of a popular women group in the state, Akwa Ibom Women League (AKIWOL), worked assiduously through the mobilization of the women folk during last year elections in support of the governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
She hails from the same federal constituency with Ekere and had served in the administration of Obong Victor Attah as a commissioner in the state Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission (EARCOM).