Asuquo Ekpenyong (born 25 August 1985) is a Nigerian politician and financial analyst. He is the former
Cross River State Commissioner for Finance and is currently the senator representing
Cross River south senatorial district and the youngest Senator in the
Nigerian Senate.
Background and education
Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr was born into the family of Chief Dr. Asuquo Ekpenyong and Dr. Mrs. Iquo Ekpenyong. He did his secondary education at
Corona College, Lagos and further obtained a degree in Economics from the
University of Reading in 2007 and a master's degree in International Banking and Financial Services in 2008.
Career
Asuquo Ekpenyong worked as a financial analyst in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
and then moved to Cross River where he worked for two years as a lecturer in the Banking and Finance Department of the
University of Calabar. He established Iquasu Ventures Limited, a haulage and logistics company, in 2010 and later took over as Managing Director of the
Central Bank of Nigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959.
The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are ...
(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 a member of the board of directors at Ekondo Microfinance Bank Limited.
In December 2015 Asuquo was appointed Cross River State Commissioner for finance by Governor
Benedict Ayade at the age of 29, making him the youngest commissioner in Nigeria. He is the longest serving commissioner for Finance in Cross River State.
In 2018 Asuquo was appointed commissioner for transport and marine services following the resignation of Mr. Savior Nyong to contest the 2019 elections.
Asuquo resigned as Commissioner for finance and Joined the race for governorship of Cross River State in the
2023 Cross River State gubernatorial election and was a leading aspirant until the emergence of Senator
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
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...
(APC) senatorial primaries with 347 votes out of 351 accredited voters. He is currently running for Senator representing
Cross River South Senatorial District.
He was named the chairman, Senate committee on NDDC of the 10th senate on 8th August, 2023.
Personal life
Asuquo Ekpenyong married Netanela Duke Ekpenyong, the second daughter of ex-governor
Donald Duke in 2018, and they have two children together.
[{{Cite web , date=2022-06-04 , title=When Asuquo Ekpenyong hosted son's christening party , url=https://www.sunnewsonline.com/when-asuquo-ekpenyong-hosted-sons-christening-party/ , access-date=2022-06-17 , website=The Sun Nigeria , language=en-US]
References
All Progressives Congress politicians
People from Cross River State
1984 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Reading