Magnus Ngei Abe (born 24 May 1965) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician who served as a Senator for the Rivers South East Senatorial District of

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He was first elected to the Nigerian Senate in 2011 in the April 2011 Federal elections and again in a rerun poll in December 2016. In the 2015 general elections, he had lost a return bid to Senator

Olaka Nwogu Olaka Nwogu (born 26 January 1965) is a Nigerian Business Man, Civil Servant and Politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 until 2011 for People's Democratic Party. He represented the constituency of Tai–Eleme–Oy ...

. Before the poll, like others in Rivers, was invalidated by the court, necessitating a rerun poll. In 2019, Abe was succeeded by Hon. Barry Mpigi.

Early life and education

Magnus Ngei Abe was born on 24 May 1965 in Nchia, Eleme,

. He attended St. Patrick College, Ikot-Ansa,

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and cre ...

and Akpor Grammar School, Ozuoba.

Law career

After obtaining an LL.B degree in Law, he was called to Nigerian Bar in 1987, starting work as a Pupil State Counsel for the Federal Ministry of Justice,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. He went into private practice as a junior partner with Okocha & Okocha, Manuchim Chambers, later becoming a managing partner with Etim-Inyang, Abe in Port Harcourt.

Political career

Abe entered politics in 1999 when he was elected into the

Rivers State House of Assembly Rivers State House of Assembly is the legislative branch of the Government of Rivers State inaugurated in 1979. It is a unicameral body with 32 members elected into 32 state constituencies. The current Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly ...

, serving as a Minority Leader. In 2003 he defected to the PDP, and from 2003 to 2007 he was Commissioner of Information in Rivers State in the administration of

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

Peter Odili Peter Otunuya Odili (born 15 August 1948) was the third Governor of Rivers State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Odili is a member of the former ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Background Peter Odili was born on 15 August 19 ...

. When Governor

Chibuike Amaechi Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (born 27 May 1965) is a Nigerian politician, he served as the Federal Minister of Transportation of Nigeria from 2015 to 2022 under the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari. He resigned to contest for Nigeria's presidency ...

entered office in May 2007, Abe was appointed as

Secretary to the State Government The Secretary to the State Government (SSG) is an official in the state governments of Nigeria's 36 states. The individual who holds the office is usually appointed by the State Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a po ...

. He resigned to compete for the position of Senator for Rivers South East, but was then re-appointed as the Secretary to Rivers State Government. In the April 2011 elections, Abe gained 154,218 votes, ahead of Dr. Nomate Toate Kpea of the

Action Congress of Nigeria The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), formerly known as Action Congress (AC), was a Nigerian political party formed via the merger of a faction of Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several othe ...

(ACN) with 34,978 votes. Senator Magnus Abe defected to

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...

(APC) on 29 January 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Magnus Ngei 1965 births Living people Members of the Senate (Nigeria) from Rivers State Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party politicians Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Secretaries to the State Government (Rivers State) All Progressives Congress politicians People from Eleme (local government area)