Patricia Naomi Akwashiki (born 2 November 1953) was elected Senator for the Nasarawa North Senatorial District of

Nasarawa State Nasarawa State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Kogi and Benue, and to the west by the Federal Capital Terri ...

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 ...

, taking office on 29 May 2007. She is a member of 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). Akwashiki earned a BA in Education from

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 ...

in 1982. She entered the banking industry, where she became a senior manager. She was elected to the 5th Assembly (2003–2007) of the House of Representatives on the

(PDP) platform. She failed to win the PDP nomination to run for a second term, and transferred to the

All Nigeria Peoples Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

(ANPP), on which ticket she won election in 2007 as Senator for Nasarawa North. After taking her seat in the Senate in May 2007, Akwashiki was appointed to committees on States & Local Government, Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, Communications, Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions and Women and Youth. In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that she sponsored a bill to amend the Code of Conduct Bureau and contributed brilliantly to debate in plenary and committee assignments. In January 2010 she returned to the PDP, citing injustice and insensitivity of the ANPP national secretariat and factional infighting in the state chapter of the party as reasons. In March 2015, 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 ...

appointed Senator Patricia Akwashiki as the Minister of Information. After taking her seat in the Senate in May 2007, Akwashiki was appointed to committees on States & Local Government, Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, Communications, Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions and Women and Youth. In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that she sponsored a bill to amend the Code of Conduct Bureau and contributed brilliantly to debate in plenary and committee assignments. In January 2010 she returned to the PDP, citing injustice and insensitivity of the ANPP national secretariat and factional infighting in the state chapter of the party as reasons. After taking her seat in the Senate in May 2007, Akwashiki was appointed to committees on States & Local Government, Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, Communications, Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions and Women and Youth. In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that she sponsored a bill to amend the Code of Conduct Bureau and contributed brilliantly to debate in plenary and committee assignments. In January 2010 she returned to the PDP, citing injustice and insensitivity of the ANPP national secretariat and factional infighting in the state chapter of the party as reasons. In March 2015, President

appointed Senator Patricia Akwashiki as the Minister of Information. In 2018 Akwashiki declared interest to run for governor of Nasarawa State predicting that she would be Nigeria's first elected female governor but failed to pick her party's ticket to run in the general election in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akwashiki, Patricia Living people 1953 births People from Nasarawa State Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria) 21st-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian women politicians Information and communications ministers of Nigeria Women government ministers of Nigeria