The appointments are the first Mr Akpabio has made since he was elected as senate president on 13 June.

President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has appointed Sylvester Okonkwo as his chief of staff and Saviour Enyiekere as the deputy chief of staff.

The appointments were contained in a statement on Monday by the media department of the office of the Senate President.

They are the first appointments Mr Akpabio will make since he was elected on 13 June.

Profiles

Mr Okonkwo attended Dennìs Memorial Grammar School Onitsha, and he is also an alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus, where he bagged a Bachelor's Degree in Law.

He hails from Ojoto in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State, South-east Nigeria.

He is a corporate lawyer and an astute politician spanning over two decades. He was a senatorial aspirant on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform in 2019.

Until his appointment, Mr Okonkwo was the CEO of Chinto Technologies Limited, an ICT and telecommunications outfit.

Mr Enyiekere hails from the Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

He is an alumnus of the University of Calabar and the Deputy Director General of the Godswill Akpabio Senatorial Campaign Organisation.

He is a former two-term executive chairman of Ika LGA, former senior special assistant to the Akwa Ibom State Government on Boundaries and Conflict Resolutions, former board member of Akwa Ibom State Road Maintenance Agency, former student leader and former senatorial aspirant, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.

He is a member of the Nigerian Environmental Society, a Fellow Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria and a professional fellow of the Emergency Crisis, Risk and Safety Management Institute of Nigeria.