Who is Miss Usoro Akpabio, nominated MD/CEO, SSDC?
President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, last Thursday, nominated Miss Usoro Akpabio, as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the South South Development Commission (SSDC).
While the Akpabio name is well-known in the Nigerian political considering the Senate President’s name is Godswill Akpabio, Usoro Akpabio is not a popular name until the announcement of her appointment by Tinubu.
Her full name is Usoro Offiong Akpabio. Some reports stated that she was born on June 10, 1983, which means Usoro is currently 42 years old and will be 43 years old by June 10, 2025.
However, a check on her foundation page, Usoro Akpabio Educational Foundation, on Facebook, indicated that she is 44 years old as of June 5, 2024, which means she will be 45 years old by June 5, 2025.
A further check of previous posts on the page confirmed that Usoro Offion Akpabio was born on June 5, 1980.
Usoro Akpabio is from Mbiaya Uruan, Uruan Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibo state. She is of the Ibibio ethnic group. The Ibibio people are a coastal people in the southern Nigeria primarily located in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
They speak dialects of the Ibibio-Efik language, which belongs to the Niger-Congo family.
Although Senate President Godswill Akpabio is from Akwa Ibom state, there is no strong evidence that confirms Usoro and Godswill are relatives. She is however rumoured to be a close ally of Senator Akpabio.
Her mother’s name is Magdalene Akpabio, a former South South PDP National Women Leader who has played a major role in regional politics.
Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are against Usoro’s appointment accused her and her mother of working against the emergence of President Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election.
Akpabio had her primary and secondary education at Uyo, the capital city of Akwa Ibom state. She would later proceed to study political science during her tertiary education.
As a graduate of political science, Usoro, according to some reports, started her career as a policy analyst in a government ministry.
She is a recipient of 2019 African Achievers Award for impact in energy and education.
The South-South Development Commission, SSDC, is a newly established agency by the Nigerian federal government.
The bill for the establishment of the Commission was sponsored by Cross-River South Senator, Asuquo Ekpenyong. It was signed into law by President Tinubu in March 2025.
-Newswire
