Biography of John Owan Enoh, family, career and politics

John Owan Enoh is a philanthropist and Politician from Cross River State in Southern Nigeria. He once represented the Cross River Central Senatorial District in the Senate from 2015 to 2019. He is currently serving as the Minister of Sports Development of Nigeria.

For your reading pleasure, ENigeria Newspapers archives a brief profile of Sen. John Owan Enoh.

Profile summary

Name: John Owan Enoh

Date of birth: 4th June, 1966

State of Origin: Etung, Cross River State

Education: University of Calabar

Religion: Christianity

Political party: All Progressive Congress (APC)

Relationship status: Married

Education

John Owan Enoh started his academic pursuit at St. Gregory Primary School, Agbokim Waterfalls Community, Cross River State before joining the St. Augustine Junior Seminary, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, for his secondary education.

After he secondary education, he studied for a degree in Sociology from the University of Calabar and then a Master’s degree in Demography from same University.

Family

Enoh was born in Agbokim Waterfall community of Cross River State to Chief Louis Owan Enoh and Helen Ayu Amba Enoh in Agbokim Waterfalls Community, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State on the 4th of June,1966.

He is married to Mrs Rachael Owan Enoh and they both have children together. Sen. Owan Enoh’s daughter, Miss Nnyen Owan Enoh is a graduate from the University of Law, Birmingham City, United Kingdom.

Career

He worked with the Governor’s office in Abeokuta, Ogun State during his one year compulsory national youth service corps (NYSC) programme in 1989.

Between 1991 and 1997, Owan Enoh was employed as a Lecturer of Sociology in the university of Calabar.

Sen. Owan Enoh also earns his income from commercial agriculture. He has abundance of farmlands scattered within and outside his community for arable and livestock production.

He also runs an out-grower scheme in communities where his farms are sited. The out-grower scheme is a corporate social responsibility scheme that empowers local small scale farmers with arable and livestock to grow in their farms and later provides them with the market to sell these products.

Political career

He resigned from lecturing and contested on the platform of the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) to represent Etung constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly in 1997.

In 1999, Enoh ran to regain his seat in the Cross River State House of Assembly under the All Peoples Party ( APP). He won and continued representing the Etung Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly. During this time, he served as the Minority Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Information.

In 2003, he contested and won a seat in the Federal House of Representatives, to represent the Etung/Obubra Federal Constituency, in the platform of the People’s Democratic Party. He also won re-election in 2007. While in the Federal House, he served as Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, the Deputy Chairman, Culture & Tourism, and the Deputy Chairman, Appropriation Committee of the House and then Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House in 2011.

Enoh was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015 representing Central Senatorial District of Cross River State in the 8th Assembly of the Senate.

In May 2017, Enoh switched from the People’s Democratic party (PDP) to the ruling All progressive Congress (APC) and contested for governorship but lost to incumbent governor Ben Ayade of PDP.

Over the years, Send John Owan Enoh has sponsored different projects for the improvement of his community and the less privileged some of which are; running an education scholarship scheme, sinking of boreholes in rural areas, founding foundation tagged JOE (John Owan Enoh) Foundation where he provides help for people living with diabetes in Nigeria amongst others.

 

Awards

Here are some of the honors received by Sen Owan Enoh in respect for his contributions to humanity;

Distinguished African Gold Award for Excellence by the African Choice International News Magazine.

Best Graduating Student Award, Sociology Department, University of Calabar in 1998.

Honorary Fellow, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan.

National Think-Tank Award by the Living Legends International Magazine in 2009.

Most Resourceful Legislator of the Year conferred by the Leadership & Business Development Institute in 2009.

Obafemi Awolowo African Hero Award as Grand Advocate of the Masses by Africa Centre for Legislative Development in 2011.

Momento Award of Excellence from the Senate Students’ Union Government (SUG), University of Calabar in 2021.

He was appointed as the Minister of Sports Development by President Bola Tinubu on August 2023.