Helen U. Esuene (born 23 November 1949) is a former Nigerian civil servant who was appointed Minister of State for Health, and later Minister of Environment and Housing in the Cabinet of President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

between 2005 and 2007.

Background

Esuene took a course in Confidential Secretaryship and Office Management at the Federal Training Centre in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

and started her

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

career as a confidential secretary. Later she did a distance course from the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

and obtained Msc in finance. Shortly after she married the former military governor of the old

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

, Chief Udoakaha Esuene, who died in 1996. They had two girls and three boys. She went into business, starting with human resource management for Mobil Producing. Later she started what became Villa Marina Hotel in

Eket Eket is one of the 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The name ''Eket'' or Ekid also refers to the indigenous ethnic group of the region and to their language. The Eket people use the endonym ''Ekid'' for themselves and their l ...

, opening in 2000. She built an art gallery as a memorial to the over 59 women gunned down by the Colonial Lords along Consulate road in Ikot Abasi during the 1929 women protest.

Obasanjo cabinet

Esuene was appointed Minister of State for Health in July 2005. She was appointed Minister of Environment in January 2006. After a cabinet reshuffle in January 2007, Esuene was given an expanded portfolio as Minister of Environment and Housing. She left office in May 2009 at the end of the Obasanjo administration.

Senate

Helen Essuene was the candidate for the Senatorial seat of Akwa Ibom South in the April 2011 Nigeria general elections, running on the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP platform).

References

*Niger Delta Business Guide, ISSN: 2782-7518 {{DEFAULTSORT:Esuene, Helen 1949 births Living people Federal ministers of Nigeria Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Women government ministers of Nigeria