Nsima Ekere
Akwa Ibom State
Birth:
Born May 29, 1965, Mr. Ekere is a native of Ikot Oboroenyin, Edemaya Clan in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. For a man whose birthday, May 29, is significant in Nigeria’s political calendar as Democracy Day, it is only fitting that his life is actively invested in the advancement of Nigeria’s democratic process.
Education:
An alumnus of the great University of Nigeria, Nsukka, from where he graduated with a B. Sc. Honours Degree in Estate Management (1986) and was taught to respect the dignity of all men (and women), Mr. Ekere started his secondary education at Regina Coeli College, Essene, Ikot Abasi, and completed same at Mary Knoll College Ogoja, Cross River State. He, thereafter, had a brief stint at The Polytechnic, Calabar (1981-82).
A number of professional qualifications support his credentials: Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (FNIVS);Registered Member, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, ESVRBN; Senior Certified Valuer, International Real Estate Institute, IREI, Minnesota, USA; enjoys associate memberships of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation, IRRV, London.
Political Life:
Mr. Ekere’s active political career began in December 1997 when he contested and won election into the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly during the Abacha Transition on the platform of the Grassroots' Democratic Movement (GDM). But he could not be inaugurated before Abacha died in June 1998 and that transition was truncated.
At the start of the Abubakar transition, Mr. Ekere joined the PDP and played a very active part in the politics of the state till he emerged the Deputy Governor on May 29, 2011. He resigned on personal grounds on October 31, 2012.
Working Life:
Prior to joining the public sector, Ekere was the Principal Partner of Ekere and Associates, a firm of estate valuers and real estate development consultants with offices in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja and Uyo, which he started in 1993. In 1989, he set up Gassons Nigeria Limited, an indigenous anti-corrosion, environmental, fabrication/maintenance engineering company.
Besides, he holds substantial interests in several publicly-quoted companies.
In March 2008, Mr. Ekere joined the public service for the first time when he was appointed Executive Chairman of AKIIPOC, the investments and industrial promotions’ arm of the Akwa Ibom