Obong Akpan Isemin was elected governor of

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 ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

from January 1992 to November 1993 during the

Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republicanism, republican government of Nigeria in 1992 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. In the Third Republic, there were to be state governors, state assemblies, and the Nation ...

. He also held the traditional title of Obong Ikpa Isong Ibibio, one of the traditional titles amongst the Ibibio nation.

Background

Isemin was born about 1939 in Mbioto,

Etinan Etinan is located within the South South part of Nigeria and constitutes one of the Local Government Areas in the oil rich Akwa Ibom State. Known for its agricultural and arts craft products, the area forms one of the most peaceful locations in th ...

local government area in Akwa Ibom state, of

Ibibio Ibibio may refer to: *Ibibio language, Niger-Congo language of Nigeria *Ibibio people an ethnic group of southern Nigeria *Ibibio Sound Machine, an English electronic afro-funk band who sing in Ibibio See also * Ibiblio, a digital library and ar ...

background. He attended the Etinan Institute for his secondary education, then the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal and public research university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, South-east Nigeria. Founded in 1955 by Nnamdi Azikiwe who was Governor-General of Nigeria between 1960 and 1963 ...

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively, re ...

where he earned a B.Sc. degree in Economics. He first worked with

Agip Agip S.p.A., acronym for Azienda generale italiana petroli, was an Italian automotive gasoline, Diesel fuel, diesel, Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, lubricants, fuel oil, and bitumen retailer established in 1926 and Subsidiary company, subsidiary ...

and Esso Standard in the oil industry. In 1969, he joined Avery Limited as Sales Executive, holding this position for 13 years and rising to become an executive director before retiring. He also wrote a column in Business Times.

Political career and death

Running on the

National Republican Convention The National Republican Convention was a Nigerian political party established by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida and ultimately disbanded by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1993. Alignment The party was organized to ca ...

(NRC) platform, Isemin was elected Governor of Akwa Ibom state on 14 December 1991, serving from 2 January 1992 to 18 November 1993, and losing office after the military coup that brought 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 ...

to power. He was known for his "Ubom Noah" (Noah's Ark) philosophy, within which all people should be given opportunity regardless of ethnic origin, and demonstrated this through his appointments of people with diverse origins. He managed to persuade the Federal government to increase the oil revenue allocation from N350,000 per month to N11.2 million. At the start of the

Nigerian Fourth Republic The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. Nigeria adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on 29 May 1999. Founding Foll ...

in 1999, Isemin again sought election as Akwa Ibom governor running on the All People's Party (APP) platform, but lost to Obong Victor Attah. In 2003, he unsuccessfully sought election as a senator on the

All Nigeria Peoples 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 ...

(ANPP) platform. Later he joined the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Death

Isemin died on 23 June 2009. There was some controversy over his death, with his widow blaming it on poor facilities at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, where lack of electricity prevented him receiving dialysis, and the hospital claiming that he had refused to accept the recommended treatment.

References

1939 births 2009 deaths National Republican Convention politicians All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) Governors of Akwa Ibom State University of Nigeria alumni Ibibio people {{AkwaIbom-politician-stub