List of governors of Akwa Ibom State

Map of Nigeria showing Akwa Ibom State

Location of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria

Akwa Ibom State, located in the South South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, has been governed by a succession of military governors, administrators, and elected governors since its creation in 1987. Before 1987, it formed part of the Eastern Region until the military dissolved Nigeria's regional structure in 1967.Template:Efn Following the reorganisation, the area became part of the newly created South-Eastern State on 27 May 1967. The South-Eastern State, comprising the present-day states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River, remained under military rule until Nigeria's brief civilian transition in 1979. In 1976, under the Murtala Mohammed administration, South-Eastern State was renamed Cross River State.

For over a decade, the region that would become Akwa Ibom was administered as part of Cross River State. The military government of Ibrahim Babangida created Akwa Ibom State on 23 September 1987, carving it out from the southeastern portion of Cross River State. Upon its creation, Akwa Ibom was governed by military administrators, starting with Tunde Ogbeha (1987–1988), followed by Godwin Abbe (1988–1990), and Idongesit Nkanga (1990–1992). Nigeria's return to democratic rule in the short-lived Third Republic saw Akpan Isemin of the National Republican Convention (NRC) become the state's first elected civilian governor in January 1992. His administration was ended by the military coup of November 1993, after which the state reverted to military rule with Yakubu Bako, Joseph Adeusi, and John Ebiye as administrators.

The dawn of the Fourth Republic in 1999 ushered in an era of uninterrupted democratic governance in Akwa Ibom. Victor Attah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became governor and served two terms from 1999 to 2007. He was succeeded by Godswill Akpabio (2007–2015). Akpabio's successor, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, also of the PDP, served from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Umo Bassey Eno, also a PDP candidate, was elected governor and is the incumbent.

List of governors

Eastern Region

Before Nigeria's independence in 1960, the territory that now constitutes Akwa Ibom State was part of the Eastern Region, one of the country's original administrative divisions.Template:Sfn During the colonial era, British officials governed the Eastern Region, with Clement Pleass (1954–1956) and Robert Stapledon (1956–1960) serving as governors. After independence, Francis Akanu Ibiam (1960–1966) became the first Nigerian governor of the Eastern Region, while Michael Okpara served as its premier (1960–1966). However, following Nigeria's first military coup in January 1966, the military abolished the regional system, dismissed civilian premiers, and appointed military administrators, with Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu governing the Eastern Region from January 1966 until its dissolution in May 1967.Template:Sfn A premier was responsible for the region's executive functions. Administrators were usually appointed to rule a state when there is a political crisis or state of emergency.Template:Sfn

South-Eastern State

Following Nigeria's restructuring under Yakubu Gowon in 1967, the Eastern Region was divided into three new states: East Central State, Rivers State, and South-Eastern State.Template:Sfn South-Eastern State remained under military administration, with Uduokaha Esuene appointed as its first military governor (1967–1975). After the 1976 state reorganisation under Murtala Mohammed, the state was renamed Cross River State.Template:Sfn

A military governor was the head of a state during Nigeria's military era, appointed by the head of the federal military government to administer states, as established by Decree No. 14 of 1967. He exercised executive powers on behalf of the central military government. In contrast, an executive governor is the democratically elected chief executive of a state under the 1999 Constitution, empowered to lead the state government, implement laws, and oversee public administration. The deputy governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor and serves as the second-in-command, assuming the governorship in the event of the governor's death, incapacitation, or resignation, and assisting in administrative duties as assigned.

Military Governors of South-Eastern State

№	Governor		Term in office	Party
1	Portrait of Brigadier Udokaha Esuene in military uniform	Udokaha Esuene (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – July 1975		Military governor
2	—	Paul Omu (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – March 1976

Cross River State

The post-renaming era continued under military rule, with Paul Omu (1976–1978) and Babatunde Elegbede (1978–1979) administering the state.Template:Sfn Civilian rule was established briefly in 1979, bringing Clement Isong (1979–1983) of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to office, followed by Donald Etiebet in 1983.Template:Sfn The December 1983 military coup ushered in another era of military control, with leaders such as Edet Archibong (1984), Dan Archibong (1984–1986), and Eben Ibim Princewill (1986–1989) governing the state.Template:Sfn

Military Governors, Administrators and Civilian Governors of Cross River State

№	Governor		Term in office	Party		Election	D. Governor
1	—	Paul Omu (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – July 1978 Template:Sfn		Military governor	—	Office did not exist
2	—	Babatunde Elegbede (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – October 1979 Template:Sfn
3	Clement Isong wearing a traditional cap	Clement Isong (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – October 1983 Template:Sfn	rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Party color;"|	NPN Template:Sfn	1979 Template:Sfn	Template:Sfn
4	—	Donald Etiebet (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – December 1983 Template:Sfn	1983
5	—	Edet Akpan Archibong (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – May 1984 Template:Sfn		Military governor	—	Office abolished
6	Dan Patrick Archibong on military uniform	Dan Patrick Archibong (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – 1986 Template:Sfn
7	—	Eben Ibim Princewill (Template:Born in) Template:Sfn	Template:Dts – December 1989 Template:Sfn

Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom State was created on 23 September 1987 by the military government of Ibrahim Babangida from the southeastern part of Cross River State. The state is named after the Qua Iboe River, is Nigeria's 21st state, and has Uyo as its capital. It borders Cross River to the east, Abia State and Rivers State to the west and northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.Template:Sfn

The first administrators were Tunde Ogbeha (1987–1988), Godwin Abbe (1988–1990) and Idongesit Nkanga (1990–1992). In January 1992, Akpan Isemin of the National Republican Convention became the first civilian governor. Following the November 1993 coup, the state was administered by Yakubu Bako (1993–1996), Joseph Adeusi (1996–1998) and John Ebiye (1998–1999).Template:Sfn Since the advent of the Fourth Republic of Nigeria in 1999, the sequence of elected governors has been: Victor Attah (Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 1999–2007), Godswill Akpabio (PDP, 2007–2015)—who later joined the All Progressives Congress in 2018 and was elected President of the Senate on 13 June 2023—followed by Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (PDP, 2015–2023) and Umo Bassey Eno (PDP, elected 2023).Template:Sfn

Military Administrators and Executive Governors of Akwa Ibom State

№	Governor		Term in office	Party		Election	D. Governor
1	—	Tunde Ogbeha (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – 30 July 1988 Template:Sfn		Military administrator	—	Office did not exist
2	Godwin Abbe speaking on TV with microphone	Godwin Abbe (Template:Born in) Template:Sfn	Template:Dts – 5 September 1990 Template:Sfn
3	Idongesit Nkanga wearing a traditional cap	Idongesit Nkanga (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – 2 January 1992 Template:Sfn
4	—	Akpan Isemin (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – 18 November 1993 Template:Sfn	style="background:Template:Party color;"|	NRC Template:Sfn	1991 Template:Sfn	Template:Sfn
5	—	Yakubu Bako (Template:Born in) Template:Sfn	Template:Dts – 21 August 1996 Template:Sfn		Military administrator	—	Office abolished
6	Joseph Adeusi portrait wearing spectacles	Joseph Adeusi (Template:Born in, Template:Died in)	Template:Dts – 9 August 1998 Template:Sfn
7	—	John Ebiye	Template:Dts – 29 May 1999 Template:Sfn
8	—	Victor Attah (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – 29 May 2007 Template:Sfn	rowspan="7" style="background:Template:Party color;"|	PDP Template:Sfn	1999 2003	(May 1999–July 2005)
				(July 2005–May 2007)
9	A portrait of Godswill Obot Akpabio on a black suit	Godswill Akpabio (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – 29 May 2015 Template:Sfn	2007 2011		(2007–2011)
						(2011–November 2012) Template:Efn
						(November 2012 – 29 May 2015)
10	—	Udom Emmanuel (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – 29 May 2023 Template:Sfn	2015 2019
11	—	Umo Eno (Template:Born in)	Template:Dts – Incumbent Template:Sfn	2023

See also

• States of Nigeria
• List of state governors of Nigeria