Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has appointed a former President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
It is worthy of note that Governor Emmanuel’s predecessor, Obong Godswill Akpabio, now a Senator of the Federal Republic and Minority Leader in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, was himself, a former Publicity Secretary of ATCON.
The appointment of Dr. Ekuwem, announced on Monday, 15 January 2018, comes on the heels of the dropping of the erstwhile SSG, Mr. Etekamba Umoren, who has held office since inception of Governor Emmanuel’s administration on May 29, 2015.
The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Udoh, who announced Dr. Ekuwem’s appointment in a statement, also hinted that the changes reflected the governor’s new focus to reposition the state for greater service delivery to the people of the state. Dr. Ekuwem’s appointment took immediate effect.
Dr. Ekuwem is the founder and chief executive officer of Teledom Group, an indigenous conglomerate with expertise in broadband information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure development, deployment and software development for the automation of national socio-economic activities to sustainably boost productivity, enhance good corporate governance and engender prosperity and national well-being.
He has tremendous capabilities and versatility in telecom engineering, information technology and telecom peripherals instrumentation. His vast knowledge, expertise and experience are a resource and guiding tool for both his company and the larger society.
Dr. Ekuwem is an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife) Ile-Ife. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Physics, Master’s Degree in Physics, Master’s Degree in Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Microcomputer-based Instrumentation and Control Engineering) and a PhD in Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Computer-based Instrumentation and Control Engineering).
He did his Post-PhD fellowship research work ( Computer-based Real-Time Data Communication in PSTN) in the Networking and Radio Propagation Laboratory of the UNESCO ICTP, Trieste, Italy.
Dr. Ekuwem is a multiple award winner, especially in the field of telecommunications and ICT. In 2005, Dr. Ekuwem was winner of the IT & Telecom Personality of the Year Award in the pioneering Nigerian Information Technology & Telecom Awards (NITTA) organised by IT & Telecom Digest. In the year 2010, he also picked the Broadband Personality of Year Award in the African Telecom Hall of Fame Award organised yet again by IT & Telecom Digest.
In fact, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as a mark of special recognition of the contributions of Dr. Ekuwem to the growth of ICT in Nigeria, in year 2001 identified him as the “most productive individual” and conferred on him the prestigious award National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM).
Dr. Ekuwem is also a former President of Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) and the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), NEPZA.
He hails from Ofi Uda in Mbo Local Government.