Chief Donald Dick Etiebet (, 1934 – 21 July 2015) was a Nigerian politician who was a senator during the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region ...

(1979 - 1983). He was then elected governor of

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

with the support of the then Senate president

Joseph Wayas Joseph Wayas (21 May 1941 – 30 November 2021) was Nigeria's Senate President during the Second Nigerian Republic (1979–1983). Background Wayas was born in Basang, Obanliku, Cross River State on 21st, May 1941 and attended the Dennis Memor ...

and senator

Joseph Oqua Ansa Joseph Oqua Ansa was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was elected two terms in 1979 and 1983 to represent Cross River South Senatorial District during the Nigerian Second Republic (1979–1983). He was a member of the National P ...

who all went against seating governor

Clement Isong Clement Nyong Isong (; 20 April 1920 – 29 May 2000) was a Nigerian banker and politician who was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1967 to 1975 during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon. He was later elected governor of Cros ...

, Fidelis Ikogo Nnang was his deputy, holding this office from October to December 1983, when the military coup brought General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

to power. Etiebet was born in

Ikot Ekpene Ikot Ekpene, also known as The Raffia City, is a historic town in the south-southern state of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. It is the political and cultural capital of the Annang ethnic group in Nigeria (Nair, 1972). The town is located on the A34 ...

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...

, of

Annang Anaang (also spelled Annang and Ànnang) is an ethnic group in Southern Nigeria, whose land is primarily within 8 of the present 31 Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State: Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk ...

origins. He married Nike Maryam Agunbiade, from Oyo State in 1991, and they have three children. His younger brother Donatus ("Don") Obot Etiebet held office as Minister of Energy in the short-lived cabinet of

Ernest Shonekan Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (9 May 1936 – 11 January 2022) was a Nigerian lawyer and statesman who served as the interim head of state of Nigeria from 26 August 1993 to 17 November 1993. He was installed the Abese of Egbalan ...

, continuing in office after that government was removed by General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

, and later was a contender to be PDP nominee for governor of Akwa Ibom State in 2007. His son Aniekan Donald Etiebet was another contender for the same post. After the return to democracy in 1999, Etiebet was a leader of the United Nigeria People's Party (UNPP), which later merged with the All People's Party (APP) to form the

All Nigeria People's Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. The ANPP was a household party in the extreme north of Nigeria, primarily due to its mass appeal among more religious voters. It was the strongest opposition party, controllin ...

. Etiebet was appointed deputy National chairman, South for the ANPP. Later, Etiebet became national chairman of the ANPP. Speaking for the ANPP in March 2003, Etiebet said election results should be released at the polling stations and signed by the political party agents as a means of curbing violence during elections. As President of the Supreme Council of Elders in Akwa Ibom State, in March 2004, Etiebet led a delegation of leaders from Akwa Ibom State to meet President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

and discuss the Onshore/offshore abrogation Act, which redistributed oil revenues. Etiebet died on 21 July 2015.

References

1934 births 2015 deaths Members of the Senate (Nigeria) Governors of Cross River State United Nigeria People's Party politicians All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians {{CrossRiverNG-politician-stub