Nnenna Ijeoma Elendu Ukeje is a Nigerian politician who was the representative for Bende Federal

Constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...

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, ...

. Having had a successful career in the private sector, Nnenna was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007, She was re-elected to the position on 29 May 2011 and also served as the Chairman house

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

on foreign affairs. In the 2015 general

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

she was also re-elected to the house of representative and once again appointed as the house committee chairman on foreign affairs.

Background

Ukeje is from Alayi, Abia State and attended

Federal Government Girls' College, Owerri Federal Government Girls' College, Owerri is a secondary school in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. It is a model secondary school for girls, which was established in 1973. The first principal of the school was Ms. Sheila Everard, (1973 to 1980) the c ...

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

. She also attended the University of Benin,

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

before graduating from the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

with a bachelor's degree in education. Ukeje worked in the

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

management industry. Her father Sunday Elendu-Ukeje was a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

with the

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces, established four years after the nation became independent. As at 2021, the air force is one of the largest in A ...

and Nigerian Airways prior to his

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

. Her mother, Roseline Ukeje, served as Chief Judge of the Federal High Court prior to her retirement. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje has experienced discrimination, sexual innuendoes, physical threats and insubordination mainly from male

colleagues Collegiality is the relationship between colleagues, especially among peers, for example a fellow member of the same profession. Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and, at least in theory, respect each other's abilities t ...

Political career

Ukeje's initial foray into

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

was her first election in office in 2007 as the Representative for Bende Federal Constituency,

under the People's Democratic Party. She was re-elected in 2011. In 2015 she was one of 15 women members and of the ten from the

People's Democratic Party (Nigeria) The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC). Its policies generally lie towards the center-right of the political spectr ...

who were elected to the

8th National Assembly 8th National Assembly may refer to: * 8th National Assembly of France * 8th National Assembly of Laos * 8th National Assembly of Nigeria * 8th National Assembly of Serbia * 8th National Assembly of Slovenia The 8th National Assembly of the ...

. The other PDP women were Eucharia Okwunna, Sodaguno Festus Omoni, Nkiruka Chidubem Onyejeocha, Rita Orji, Evelyn Omavowan Oboro, Beni Butmaklar Langtang, Omosede Igbinedion Gabriella, Fatima Binta Bello and Stella Obiageli Ngwu. On 12 May 2021, the Deputy Chairman of Bende Local Government Area Promise Uzoma Okoro chaired a Grand civic reception in her honour at the Bende Local Government

Headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

. Abia State Governor

Okezie Ikpeazu Okezie Victor Ikpeazu (born 18 October 1964) is a Nigerian politician and former Governor of Abia State, who was in office from 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023. He was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party. He was re-elected as the ...

who graced the event as Special guest described her as the priceless jewel of Abia Politics. The Speaker of the 7th Abia State House of Assembly Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji on his part said that the Official Peoples Democratic Party will bounce back in Bende with the return of Ukeje. Additionally, she has been a vocal supporter of affirmative action and gender parity. During her time in parliament, she played a pivotal role in the passing of several important bills, including those related to public officers protection, minimum wage, broadcasting anti-trust legislation, anti-money laundering and terrorism, asset forfeiture in criminal matters, foreign assistance in criminal matters, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and non-discrimination against people living with disabilities.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukeje, Nnenna Elendu Living people 1969 births University of Benin (Nigeria) alumni University of Lagos alumni People from Abia State Members of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria)