By Okoi Obono-Obla
The APC senatorial team for Cross River State for the senatorial elections slated for 16th January, 2027, in respect of the National Assembly — which constitutes the second arm of the Federal Government in Nigeria’s federal system introduced in 1954 — is a reflection and perfect blend of Young Turk vitality, enthusiasm, innovation, and legislative and executive experience.
The trio of Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, and Honourable Oden Ibiang Ewa brings variegated family backgrounds, combining the civil service, investment banking, business, and the academic environment in which they were nurtured and raised.
PROFILE OF THE TRIO
1. Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe — The Most Senior
Senator Asuquo Agom Jarigbe is the most senior of the trio, both biologically and legislatively.
He has in his kitty almost 15 solid years of legislative experience in both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, spanning almost two decades.
He is the son of a civil servant and a native of Ibil in Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State. He is highly rated and regarded on account of his formidable grassroots network and connections, which in the 2023 senatorial elections caused a national upset when he defeated the then incumbent Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, who was his opponent sponsored by the APC.
In 2025, he dramatically migrated from the crumbling PDP to join the APC. By 2027, he would have spent 10 solid years in the Senate, and if he wins, he would be one of the most senior senators in the next session of the National Assembly of Nigeria.
2. Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong — The Young Turk and Financial Wizard
Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong hails from Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State and is presently the Senator representing the Cross River South Senatorial District in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
When he was elected on the platform of the APC in 2023, he was under 40, thus making history as one of the youngest senators in the current session of the National Assembly.
He comes with solid executive experience, having served for eight years as Commissioner for Finance in the administration of Governor Ben Ayade from 2015 to 2023. He is a very smart young politician with a great network and connections within the political establishment of the country.
He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He is very popular and loved by the grassroots in the Cross River South Senatorial District, and his election on 16th January, 2027 will be a practical walkover for him. He will surely make mincemeat of his rival contestants from political parties on the fringes of Cross River State politics. He will surely be a ranking Senator in the next session of the National Assembly come 2027.
His father, Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong, is a leading investment banker in the country.
3. Honourable Oden Ibiang Ewa — The Quiet Strategist and Financial Innovator
Honourable Oden Ibiang Ewa, 43, is a native of Ugep Urban, the sprawling and thickly populated headquarters of Yakurr Local Government Area in the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State — a local government area that is considered a powerhouse in the Senatorial District.
He is very brilliant, deliberate, quiet, but a very solid character and a smooth operator. Indeed, Rt. Honourable John Gaul Lebo, who is running for a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the APC for the Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency in the 16th January, 2027 elections, told me last week that Oden Ewa has the knack and Midas touch for financial wizardry and innovation, which he greatly brought to bear when he served as Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations in the cabinet of Governor Bassey Edet Otu. That impressive performance culminated in him standing strongly to clinch the APC ticket for the Central Senatorial District.
He is a trusted confidant of the Governor, a relationship that has stood him in excellent stead. He is the son of a distinguished academic, the late Professor Ibiang Ewa, and his mother, Mrs. Okpata Oden Ewa, is a retired senior civil servant. At 43, he is somebody to watch in the next generation of political leadership in Cross River State.
CONCLUSION
In sum, this trio represents a formidable, balanced and winning combination. With Jarigbe’s legislative depth and grassroots mastery, Ekpenyong’s youthful energy and financial expertise, and Ewa’s quiet strategic innovation and executive competence, Cross River State is poised to enjoy robust, effective and influential representation in the 11th National Assembly.
