Nduese Essien (born 2 February 1944) was a Nigerian National Assembly representative from

Akwa Ibom Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

state from 1999 to 2007, the position he held at the House of Representatives includes the leader of south-south parliamentary caucus and chairman of House committee on anti corruption, National Ethics and value under the late president Umaru Yar’Adua, and he later appointed him into the technical committee in the Niger Delta. He was also appointed Federal Minister of Lands, Housing & Urban Development on 6 April 2010, when acting president

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

announced his new cabinet.

Early career

Essien was born on 2 February 1944 in Nta Isip-Ikot Ibiok,

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 ...

Local Government Area of

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

. He attended

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

, where he obtained a B.Sc. in business administration in 1972. Essien's first job was with ''The Chronicle'' newspaper in the commercial department. In 1974 he became a lecturer at the College of Technology, Calabar. He left to start a business consultancy practice in 1979, and later ran a successful company marketing books for students.

Political career

In 1979 Essien was the Public Relations Officer of the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

in Eket. He remained active in local politics, and in 1999 was selected as

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) National Assembly candidate for the Eket, Onna, Esit Eket and Ibeno constituency in Nigeria. He was elected, and in April 2003 was reelected, leaving office in May 2007. During his first term, Essien chaired the South South Parliamentary Caucus, and was a member of committees on internal affairs and women's affairs. In 2003, he was appointed chairman of the House Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values. He was also appointed chairman of the Nigerian Chapter of the African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption, and was later elected regional director in charge of West Africa. After leaving office in 2007, he was a member of the National Technical Assessment Committee on the Niger Delta region. Following his 6 April 2010 appointment as Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Essien said land reform and provision of housing were key items in the administration's seven-point agenda. On 13 April 2010 he pledged to revamp decaying housing estates and to deliver 54,500 new houses within the next 10 months.

References

1944 births Living people Federal ministers of Nigeria Peoples Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria) National Party of Nigeria politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria) {{Nigeria-politician-stub