Senator Asuquo Ekpeyoung is the youngest distinguished senator of the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Intelligence. His remarkable emergence from state administration to national legislation is a lesson of possibilities for young Nigerians aspiring to make a stint in Nigeria’s politics.
Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong is a Nigerian politician, business, financial expert and member of the senate of the 10th Assembly. The Cross River state senator who represents Cross River South Senatorial District which covers seven local governments areas of the state that includes Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, Akpabuyo, Bakassi, Odukpani, Biase and Akampka. is the Chairman of Senate Committee of Niger Delta Development Commission and member of several other committees.
He is the former Commissioner for Finance who at the time of his appointment was just 29 years old and the youngest commissioner in the country.
Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr hails from a community in Odukpani called Eniong Abatim, precisely Etcheri Iquo Esin lineage in Asang Eniong was born into the family of Chief Dr. Asuquo Ekpenyong and Dr. Mrs. Iquo Ekpenyong. His father, His Royal Majesty Etinyin Dr Asuquo Ekpenyong OON, the Monarch and Clan Head of Bukong Clan Eniong Abatim is known to be respected leaders and minister of God.
The young Asuquo attended the prestigious King’s College, Lagos State before later furthering his higher education in Economics from the University of Reading, UK in 2007 and a master’s degree in International Banking and Financial Services in 2008. Upon his return to Nigeria after graduation, Sen Asuquo would begin his career journey at University of Calabar, Cross River State where he was lecturing in the department of Banking and Finance from 2009 to 2012. It is well known within the school that Asuquo’s passion to teach and impart knowledge in others knew no bounds leading to his subsequent aspiration to become a federal law maker at the National Assembly.
Sen. Asuquo had always nurtured the desire for entrepreneurship and business solutions services which gave birth to his first venture, Iquasu Ventures Limited, a haulage and logistics company, in 2010 incorporated in Calabar. The company sought to leverage on the immense opportunities in goods and services delivery, targeted at using cutting edge technology to link businesses and their customers within and outside the state.
He later took over as Managing Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed Chamley Bureau de Change Limited. Asuquo was later appointed Executive Director for finance at Pearland Energy, an indigenous Oil and Gas company, and member of the board of directors at Ekondo Microfinance Bank Limited.
After the 2015 general elections, the machinery of government settled down post nomination of federal ministers and state commissioners, given to the need to involve more younger Nigerians at the different levels of government. One of the state governors who took that bold step is Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
On October 19 2015, Governor Ayade submitted a list of 28 commissioner nominees to the Cross River State House of Assembly. The list included professionals such as Goddy Etta, Etim Ayimobi, John Ulafor, Stella Odey, Engineer Francis Eraye, George Abang Kabu, Joe Abang and Asuquo Ekpenyong, the youngest nominee. What raised a few eyebrows concerning Mr. Ekpenyong’s nomination is his age and the fact that he is not a career politician.
But for those close to the seat of power, the nomination of Ekpenyong did not come as a surprise because he was an integral part of Governor Ayade’s campaign team.
On November 27, Asuquo Ekpenyong was sworn in as the commissioner for Finance in Cross River state and the youngest serving commissioner in the country. He brought with him experience gained at home and abroad to contributing in building the state to be a key player in this age of information technology and global financial market advancement. His accomplishments leave no room to doubt his eligibility and preparedness for the role. It is certain that his appointment by governor Ben Ayade amplifies the unfolding reality of a new Nigeria of greater inclusion of young technocrats to governance and public administration.
In 2018 Asuquo was appointed commissioner for transport and marine services following the resignation of Mr. Savior Nyong to contest 2019 elections.
As Commissioner of Finance, Cross River State, he was celebrated for engineering several achievements by the state government including; Biometric Capturing of Civil Servants in the State — An exercise that reduced the state’s high wage bill by eliminating ghost workers with a view of making savings for the administration’s industrialization mantra. By the end of the compulsory six(6) months biometric exercise, the Cross River State wage/pension bill was reduced approximately by N174 million, leading to an annual savings of N2.08 billion.
Designing and Implementation of Ministerial Single Account (MSA) — A fiscal reform programme that created a public accounting system where all government collectibles and receivables are channelled through a single consolidated account. At the conclusion of this exercise the state government were able to mop up approximately 4.2 billion naira in idle funds and shutdown approximately 500 inefficiently operated bank accounts of MDAs. The MSA also allows the state government to appropriate funds to projects in order of priority.
Establishment of Efficiency Units — A unit established to reduce cost and make savings for the state government. The Unit reviews government expenditure with a view of identifying areas where government can save cost and make savings. The Unit focuses on reviewing travelling expenses and bulk purchases, and make appropriate recommendation to the state government for implementation.
Asuquo resigned as Commissioner for finance and Joined the race for governorship of Cross River State in the 2023 Cross River State general elections and was a leading aspirant until the emergence of Sen. Bassey Otu as the consensus candidate of the All progressive congress (APC) in the state.
In May 2022, Asuquo Ekpenyong emerged winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries with 347 votes out of 352 accredited votes. He won 2023 Senate in the Elections with 57, 870 votes to defeat his closest rivals Hon Daniel Effiong Asuquo of Labour Party who gathered 47,384 votes and Ekpo Okon of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with 41,116 Votes.
As a member of the 10th Senate he serves in the following committees:
National Security and Intelligence Committee Finance Committee
Ecology and Climate Change Committee
Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions Committee
Customs, Excise and Tariff Committee
Upstream Petroleum Committee
Marine Transport Committee
Trade and Investment Committee
Ekpenyong has also attended several training programmes, including the Global Executive Leadership Program at Howard University Business School, Washington D.C.; the Executive Management Development Program at the University of Pretoria, South Africa; the Euromoney Oil and Gas School London, etc. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
Sen. Asuquo is committed to excellence and prepared for the task ahead and the people of his senatorial district have been assured of qualitative and impactful representation that would see a lot of dividends of democracy attracted to the state.
Sen. Asuquo Ekpenyong married Netanela Duke Ekpenyong, the second daughter of ex-governor Donald Duke in 2018.
by Simon Tuleh, Aug-Oct 2023