Hon. Barr. Prince Ukpong Udo Akpabio II — Grand Patron, Justice Nsima Akpabio Chambers
Lawyer, legislator and community builder from Ukana Ikot Ntuen — representing Essien Udim in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, and standing today as the chambers' most distinguished patron.
From the chambers of law and business into the hallowed chamber of the Assembly
Hon. Barr. Prince Ukpong Udo Akpabio II hails from Ukana Ikot Ntuen in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State — the same soil that produced the man whose name this chambers bears. A lawyer by training and a businessman and community developer by calling, he has spent his career moving between the courtroom, the boardroom and the grassroots, with a consistent belief that small and medium enterprises remain the surest foundation for community wealth and prosperity.
His entry into public office came in September 2018, when Governor Udom Emmanuel appointed him Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry in Akwa Ibom State, a portfolio he held into a further term as Commissioner for Trade and Investment. In that seat, he worked at the intersection of government policy and enterprise — proposing and communicating investment recommendations to stakeholders ranging from everyday clients to senior government officials, and championing entrepreneurship and capacity-building for young people across Essien Udim and beyond.
In March 2023, he took that grassroots credibility to the ballot, and was elected to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to represent Essien Udim State Constituency in the 8th Assembly — a seat he has held since June 2023 under the People's Democratic Party. Since taking his seat, he has served as Chairman of the House Committee on Rules, Business, Ethics and Privileges, and sits on the Akwa Ibom State Debt Management Council, the Public Procurement Council, and the state's Post-COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Structuring Group.
Visionary leadership, strategic planning, and a hand in shaping state policy
Across every office he has held, a single thread runs through Prince Akpabio's record: an insistence on building lasting institutions rather than chasing personal milestones. As a businessman and community stakeholder, he has worked to help startups in Essien Udim and beyond achieve sustainable growth, drawing on strengths in strategic planning, financial management, stakeholder engagement and calculated risk management.
That same institution-building instinct now shapes his legislative work. As Chairman of the House Committee on Rules, Business, Ethics and Privileges, he sits at the centre of how the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly governs its own conduct and its legislative agenda — a position of trust that colleagues have credited to his consistency, humility and unwavering commitment to a politics that rises above ethnic and family lines.
Beyond the Assembly, his appointments to the state's Debt Management Council, Public Procurement Council, and Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Structuring Group place him among the officials entrusted with the state's fiscal discipline and economic recovery — work that rarely makes headlines but shapes how the state is run.
Words from the outgoing Advocate General, delivered at the Chamber's Dinner & Awards Night
There are some people whose contributions to an institution cannot be adequately captured by listing programmes, events or particular moments. Their impact is woven more quietly into the life of the institution — in the things they provide, the people they encourage, the needs they notice, and the doors they help keep open. For the Chamber, Hon. Prince Ukpong Akpabio is one of such people.
Sir, thank you for the many ways you have consistently looked out for the well-being of the Chamber. You have given, provided and supported us in ways that may not always have been announced or publicly seen. And what makes that generosity particularly meaningful is knowing that you do so while carrying responsibilities of your own, with a family and a budget of your own to care for. Yet, you have repeatedly found room to care for the Chamber too.
I am especially grateful for the attention you give to academic excellence. You have never treated the academic achievements of our members as something too small to notice. You look out for students who distinguish themselves, celebrate their accomplishments and reward their hard work generously. In doing so, you remind us that excellence deserves not only recognition, but encouragement.
And then there is your presence. You have consistently graced our Chamber dinners and important gatherings, not merely as a patron whose name appears on our list of distinguished guests, but as someone whose presence genuinely means something to us. Seeing you among us, sharing in our celebrations and lending your presence to our milestones, is an honour. Perhaps what I appreciate most is that your support has never felt like something we were simply entitled to. It has felt like a gift.
It has been a privilege to serve in an institution blessed to have you as its Patron, and I do not take that privilege for granted. May God continue to bless you, strengthen you, provide for you as generously as you have provided for others, and prosper the work of your hands. Thank you, Sir, for being there for the Chamber.
— Emmanuel Richard, Advocate General, 2025/2026
Delivered at the ASTRA 2026 Dinner & Awards Night, 24th September 2026
The judge, senator and philanthropist whose life gave the chambers its name
A posthumous child of the late Madam Ekanem Akpan of Utu Edem Usung and the late Prince Ukpong Udo Akpabio of Ukana Ikot Ntuen, Justice Nsima Peters Akpan was the twelfth child of his father. His education began at the Methodist Central School, Ikot Ekpene, before he earned admission into the prestigious Regina Coeli College, Ikot Abasi, in 1962, transferring to Holy Family College, Abak, in 1967, where he sat the West African School Certificate examination in 1969.
Seven years later, he was admitted to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study law, graduating between 1976 and 1980 with results strong enough to see him called to the Bar with distinction. Alongside his legal career, he carried a deep passion for community service, founding the Eka Nsima Award — a scholarship scheme named in memory of his mother — to give hope to bright but indigent children in his community.
In 1983, he carried that same passion into the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District under the defunct National Party of Nigeria, where he became a trusted and respected voice among his colleagues. His standing with the grassroots never waned, and in 1994 he was appointed Caretaker Chairman of Essien Udim Local Government Area.
But it was the judiciary that Justice Nsima called his first love — "the last hope of the masses," as he saw it. In 1995, he was appointed an Honourable Justice of the High Court of Akwa Ibom State, completing a rare traverse through all three arms of government, and served on the bench until his death in 1999. In recognition of his service to humanity, he received an honorary Doctorate Degree in Philosophy and Business Administration from Cornerstone University, Hawaii, in 1995.
From the judge whose name the chambers carries, to the Grand Patron who now carries that legacy forward in public life — JNAC continues to make the difference.
Justice Nsima Akpabio Chambers — JNAC Profiles