APC Youth Lobby Group Tours Cross River: What Does Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr. Really Want?
By Nelson NseAbasi
The passing of ‘Not Too Young to Run Bill’ and the accord of Cross Riverians to zone the governorship of the state to the southern senatorial district in 2023 may have caused ripples in the state. To some, a welcome development, to others, just lames talk.
The move is fingered to have inspired a high level agitation by the Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr led APC Youth Lobby Group. Receiving such boost in the wake of his youth-led political evangelism, a gospel the group is preaching as they embark on a tour of local government areas in the state, leaving observers with only one question in mind… What does Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr. really want?
Born on September 25th 1985, Asuquo Ekpenyong hails from Odukpani local government area in Cross River. He obtained his West African Examinations Council certificate from King’s College, Lagos, Nigeria before leaving for England. There seem to be more than just this as his motivation, looking at his background, his father, Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong himself had laid a good foundation in business and politics, and a good education for his name-sake-son whom he sent to the University of Reading for a degree in Economics and a Masters in International Banking & Financial Services from the same institution in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Ekpenyong Jnr. has also attended several training programmes, he attended the Key Executive Program at the Harvard Business School, Boston USA, including the Global Executive Leadership Program at Howard University Business School, Washington D.C.; the Executive Management Development Program at the University of Pretoria, South Africa; the Euromoney Oil & Gas School London, he is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
In his years of private and public service, Asuquo has displayed commendable leadership qualities and skills, delivering economic business strategies & planning, corporate & public finance, including financial modeling, investments management, new business development and risk management.
Having developed himself, Suki’s story would not be complete without mentioning Senator Professor Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State. Sen. Ayade’s appointment made him the youngest Commissioner in Nigeria, this gave him a seat in the State Executive Council, more often than not, he refers to the gesture as an inspiration to him and should be considered as a motivation for many youths.
On the 27th of November, 2015 Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr. was sworn in as the Commissioner for Finance in Cross River state, then just 32. In 2017, this put him in the list of 100 Most Influential Young Nigerians, as youngest serving Commissioner for Finance in the country when Avance Media released the list same year.
Whenever the issue of youths being considered for a chance at governance and leadership, Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr is the caliber of youth the statement describes. His public service experience speaks for him, his duty as Commissioner for Finance for Cross River state Government has been his place of primary assignment for the last six years since, between September 2018 and January 2019 he served as Commissioner for Transport & Marine, but before then, he held sway as Managing Director, Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort. In his professional career, Asuquo has been Executlve Director at Channel View Hotels and Davandy Group all roles which he performed exceedingly well.
As Director at Ekondo MF Bank, he was Member, Board Credit Committee, Board Audit Committee & Board Finance & General Purpose Committee, all roles at which he performed excellently well, a no-brainer credited to his background as Managing Director of Chamley Bureau De Change Limited for 5 years, a Bureau De Change established by him and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to trade in foreign exchange within Nigeria.
The gentle appeal and subtle agitation for youth inclusiveness has taken the husband and father as far as before the Nigerian President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, where he and his colleagues reiterated the need for the country to capitalize on the energy of their youth population and talent, which got a nod from the Presidency.
As Isaac Newton famously noted that “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”, the ancient wisdom and knowledge of our aged leaders cannot be underestimated. If the ‘tomorrow’ they promise the youths will ever come, the youth can only survive with the respectable experiences they must have gotten from the great minds.
What then does Suki want? This piece would not be complete without mentioning specifically that Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr (Suki) has his eyes on the Cross River State governorship seat. He believes that if the government and the people are to be taken for their words on both the issue of youth inclusiveness in governance and zoning the governorship seat to the Southern district where he hails from, then the odds are all in his favour.
If we take a good look at history, the youth are not too young to lead and develop this nation, but they must therefore seek and desire for opportunities to serve, to develop themselves and the nation. Just as the youth are leveraging on the not-too-young-to-run bill by getting involved in governance and policy creation.
This exactly is what Suki wants, an ambition he pursues not just for himself, but also for his generation, offering himself as a sacrificial lamb to prove that if Nigerian youths are given the opportunity to serve, credibility and capacity will be brought to bare. To crown it all, he is not waiting for it, he is going all out for it, with keen and calculated efforts made on the platform of the youth movement of the current ruling party in Nigeria, All Progressive Congress.
Nelson is a Journalist, Talent Manager & Public Affairs Analyst, he writes from Calabar.
