Sam Ominyi Egwu CON (born 20 June 1954) is a Nigerian politician and member of People's Democratic Party (PDP) in

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, ...

. He was elected

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Ebonyi State Ebonyi () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by Benue State, Enugu State to the west, Cross River State to the east and southeast, and Abia Stat ...

in the 1999 Ebonyi State gubernatorial election from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Dr Egwu is noted as pillar of educational development in Ebonyi state and Nigeria. He attended the

University of Nigeria, Nsukka A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Agriculture in 1981. He later received a master's degrees in Agricultural from the

in 1987 and Doctorate in Agronomy from Enugu State University of Technology in 1996. He was a senior lecturer at Enugu State University of Technology and served as commissioner for education in Ebonyi state contributed to the successes recorded in education sector during his tenure as governor. In 2008, President

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 Ma ...

appointed him Minister of Education, position he held till April 2010 when he was replaced by Professor Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i. Egwu was former 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 ...

's choice to become National Chairman of the PDP at its 2008 National Convention. However, at the convention on 8 March 2008, he withdrew in favour of the compromise candidate Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who was chosen as an alternative to Egwu and his main rival for the position,

Anyim Pius Anyim Anyim Pius Anyim (born 19 February 1961) is a Nigerian politician who served as the 9th president of the Nigerian Senate from 2000 to 2003, he was Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) during the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. He ...

."Nigeria: As Ogbulafor Emerges PDP Chairman Obasanjo Loses Grip"
''Daily Trust'', Abuja (allAfrica.com), 9 March 2008. His stay as education minister was characterized by ASUU (

Academic Staff Union of Universities The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a Nigerian union of university academic staff, founded in 1978. ASUU is an offshoot of the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT) which was established in 1965. At that time, NAUT con ...

) and other university union strikes. This led to people demanding his sacking. In 2015, he successfully contested the senatorial seat for Ebonyi North Senatorial Zone on the platform of People's Democratic Party. Currently, he is the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

committee chairman on industry. He is from

Ohaukwu Ohaukwu is a Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or n ...

LGA of the state.

Awards and honours

* Commander of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

(CON). * D.Sc. (Honoriscausa) by University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 2006. * D.Sc. (Honoriscausa) by Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, 2008.

References

Notes

1954 births Living people Nigerian Pentecostals Governors of Ebonyi State Igbo politicians Peoples Democratic Party state governors of Nigeria People from Ebonyi State Education ministers of Nigeria Senators of the 9th National Assembly (Nigeria) Senators of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria) {{Ebonyi-politician-stub

Awards and honours

See also

References

Notes