Content
- Biography
- Early Life
- Education
- Personal Life
- Career
- Politics
- Controversy
- Net Worth
Profile
Real Name: | Godswill Obot Akpabio |
Date Of Birth: | 9 December, 1962 |
Age: | 60 Years Old |
State Of Origin: | Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria (Ukana, Ikot Ntuen, Essien Udim) |
Nationality: | Nigerian |
Wife: | Ekaette Unoma Akpabio |
Profession: | Politician – Lawyer |
Net Worth: | $100,000,000 |
Political Party: | APC |
Education – Qualifications: | University Of Calabar (Honorary Degree) |
Parents: | Chief Obot Akpabio, And Madam Lucy Obot Akpabio (nee Inyangetor) |
Godswill Akpabio Biography
Godswill Akpabio (born December 9, 1962) is a politician and attorney in Nigeria. On May 11, 2022, at President Muhammadu Buhari’s request, he resigned as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to run in the All Progressives Congress’s presidential primaries for president. From May 29, 2007 till May 29, 2015, he also held the office of governor of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom State.
Early Life
Godswill Akpabio was born in Ukana, Ikot Ntuen, Essien Udim Local Government Area to Chief Obot Akpabio and Madam Lucy Obot Akpabio (née Inyangetor). It was on December 9, 1962, when he entered the world. He was reared by his mother after the death of his father while he was young.
Godswill Akpabio Education
He went to Methodist Primary School in Ukana, Essien Udim LGA, Akwa Ibom State; and Federal Government College in Port Harcourt, Rivers State; and the University of Calabar, Cross River State; all of which led to Akpabio’s eventual graduation with a law degree. He was elected Senior Prefect during his time at Federal Government College, Port Harcourt.
Akpabio was chosen as the parliamentary year’s speaker at the University of Calabar.
Personal Life
Relationships with loved ones and private activities.It was in the province of Ikot Ekpene that Akpabio’s grandfather, Okuku Udo Akpabio, held the position of Warrant Chief. Dr I.U Akpabio was the nephew of the Eastern Nigerian Minister of Education and Internal Affairs. His cousin, the late Justice Nsima Akpabio, served as a senator under the Second Nigerian Republic. Catholicism is Akpabio’s denomination of choice in the Christian faith.
His wife, Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, established the non-profit Family Life Enhancement Initiative (FLEI), which works to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by shifting attention back to families (MDGs).
Including their son, Akpabio and his wife have produced four daughters.
Godswill Akpabio Career
Akpabio worked as a teacher and an associate partner at the Nigerian law firm Paul Usoro & Co.
In addition, he had a stint at EMIS Telecoms Limited, a Lagos, Nigeria-based wireless telecommunications firm.
His promotion to CEO/Managing Director in 2002 was a major turning point in his career. Working in this capacity, he contributed to the development of the rapidly expanding telecoms sector. Before becoming a director at EMIS, he worked for the Association of Telecommunications Companies in Nigeria (ATCOM) as its national publicity secretary.
Politics
Former Governor Obong Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom State elevated him to the position of Honourable Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources in 2002. From 2002 to 2006, he worked as a Commissioner for the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and Lands and Housing.
In a contentious primary election for governor of Akwa Ibom State in 2006, he emerged as the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party after defeating 57 other candidates (PDP).
His campaign motto, “let God’s will be done,” won him widespread support, and he was eventually elected Governor in 2007. In 2011, he was elected to serve a second term as Governor of Akwa Ibom State. As of 2013, he is also the head of the PDP Governors Forum, for which he was elected chairman the previous year.
He ran for and was elected to represent the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria’s Upper House of Parliament in 2015, and he won. The Independent National Electoral Commission certified him as the winner after he received 422,009 votes out of a total of 439,449, easily defeating Chief Inibehe Okorie of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who received 15,152 votes (INEC).
On 28 July 2015, the Senate President announced that Akpabio had been appointed Senate Minority Leader after being nominated for the role by the South-South caucus of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In the general election of 2015, the PDP was soundly defeated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
After Senator Akpabio announced his defection to the All Progressive Congress in August of 2018, he resigned from his position as Senate Minority Leader. A political gathering was held in honor of his defection in his hometown of Ikot Ekpene at the municipal stadium in Akwa Ibom State.
President Muhammadu Buhari nominated him for a ministerial position in Nigeria in July of 2019, and the Senate of Nigeria conducted a confirmation process. He was sworn in as the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 21st of August, 2019.
Controversy
American diplomats described the level of corruption in Akwa Ibom State under Godswill Akpabio’s administration as “exceptional,” and the state was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly losing over a hundred billion Nigerian naira while he was governor (from 2007 to 2015).
In any case, no criminal accusations have been made. Law firm partner Leo Ekpenyong, who also accused Akpabio of corruption, was subsequently charged with defamation by the authorities.
Members of the House of Representatives called Akpabio to testify in May 2020 over the missing 40 billion Naira.
Godswill Akpabio Net Worth
One of Nigeria’s wealthiest politicians is Godswill Akpabio. He has held positions in a variety of government agencies as well as on the boards of numerous professional organizations. As of the year 2021, his fortune is predicted to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million (41.1 billion).