Co-founder of leading online law publication The Metro Lawyer (TML), Teyojesam Eko is one of 100 Nigerians who have been recognised ïn a compendium of changemakers in the country. Eko received the honour especially for her efforts in the banking sector, legal profession and her humanitarian services.
The publication tagged “Changemakers: 100 Nigerians Leading Change” is a biographical compendium that shares the stories of outstanding Nigerians making extraordinary impact and providing leadership in their spheres of influence.
Speaking at the event, co-editors of the publication Kammonke Abam and Tammie Edet Kammonke said that those that made the list were selected from diverse backgrounds in acknowledgment of their tremendous contributions to the development of the society.
According to the editors, “Nigeria’s human capital is the country’s biggest asset. We must take deliberate steps to unlock that potential and harness it through recognising the peculiar endowment of citizens”.
Explaining the the choice of June 12 date for the formal release of the book, the editors said that it was a deliberate statement to underscore the significance of the day in Nigeria’s political history, noting that the day presents an opportunity for a deep reflection on our national leadership ethos with a view to addressing the country’s leadership deficits
They added: “There is a nexus between our biographical publications, the quest for transformational leadership in Nigeria and the harnessing of the nation’s human capital, which for us, June 12 represents.
“Immortalising the late Chief MKO Abiola who epitomises the struggle for democracy and popular participation in our electoral process is an excellent acknowledgment of what he stood for and the virtues he represented.
Among those listed in the 2023 edition are the Founder of The Zeebah Foundation, Mr. Nzan Ogbe; a renowned philanthropist and Chairman of Global Citizen Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo; the Founder/Global Lead of the Women Environmental Programme (WEP), Dr. Priscilla M. Achakpa; a feminist activist, grassroots mobiliser and a development consultant, Emem Okon; an organisational management expert and Co-Founder/CEO, Clean Technology Hub Nigeria, Ms Ifeoma Malo; a women’s and children’s rights advocate and founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), Betty Abah and the Executive Director of Nigeria’s foremost advocacy non-governmental organisation, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, Prince Williams Chima.
Others are a serving Senator, Ali Ndume; retired international soccer star, Kanu Nwankwo; rights activist, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani; the wife of the Olu of Warri, Olori Aiyivieruewinoya “Ivie” Emiko-Atuwatse, among others.
Read Tj Eko’s profile below…
Teyojesam Eko is a highly skilled legal practitioner with about 20 years of experience in the profession spanning across litigation, banking, law journalism, real estate and maritime law. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 2003, she holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration and a Master’s degree in International Maritime Law.
She is an expert in corporate commercial law, especially with regards to Charterparty agreements and all forms of legal drafting and conveyancing. Teyojesam started building her career milestones in the legal sector, cutting her teeth with the law firm of Y. C. Maikyau & Co., before transiting into banking. She forayed in that sector excellently for eight years before returning to her first love, corporate legal practice.
She is the Founding Partner of The Metro Lawyer, a leading player in the legal blogosphere. She also sits on the Board of several companies and organisations and acts as company secretary/legal adviser to a number of corporate bodies; including TML News & Media, Stripes of Africa, Euphrates Homes, Fajodd-4 Properties and Hotels, Asarya Petrochemicals, Oakridge Management Consulting, Integrated Projects Solutions, JD Leisure Centre, etc. She is also a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), serving on several committees of the association over the years, both at the branch and national level. She is presently a member of the Digital Committee of the association.
Whenever Teyojesam is not working, she engages in charity and community development services. As the Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the Elder Mrs Regina Arikpo Widows’ Foundation and the Exquisite Royal Pearls Club of Ugep (ERPCU), she has been actively involved in giving back to her local community- Ugep, Cross River State; especially to widows, orphans and indigent young Ugep girls with no hope of a decent education or acquisition of life skills.
She recently led an ERPCU environmental project in partnership with the Global Green Grants Fund (GGF), USA; where 500 trees were planted in the community to minimize the harmful effects of climate change. She saw a need for this intervention because, from August during the Ugep New Yam festival where a particular species of trees is uprooted as part of the culture to showcase male virility, to the daily cutting down of trees to give space for buildings as a result of the population growth in Ugep; more often than not, these trees are not replaced or replanted.
Teyojesam is a Federal Road Safety Corps Special Marshal and has been a Children’s Church minister for over 18 years.
