Stella Oreme Odey-Ekpo (Dr.)
Cross river | House of representatives
Cross river | House of representatives
Dr. Stella Oreme Odey-Ekpo is a Nigerian politician, administrator, humanitarian and public servant from Cross River State. She is from Yala Local Government Area and has built a career spanning local government administration, state government service, social development and national public service.
Odey-Ekpo began her public-service career at the grassroots level and served as Vice Chairman of Yala Local Government between 2013 and 2015. She later became involved in the administration of Cross River State, where she served as Commissioner for Women Affairs from 2015 to 2019.
As Commissioner for Women Affairs, she was involved in programmes focused on women's empowerment, skills acquisition and support for vulnerable groups. She subsequently served as Commissioner for Local Government Affairs from 2019 to 2023, giving her experience in coordinating and working with local government administrations across the state.
Odey-Ekpo has also been involved in humanitarian and community-development activities. During the COVID-19 period, she participated in interventions providing agricultural inputs and relief support to farmers and families. Her public activities have particularly included women empowerment, youth development and grassroots community support.
In 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Odey-Ekpo as the Federal Commissioner representing Cross River State in the Federal Character Commission. In that capacity, she became involved in a national institution responsible for promoting fairness and equitable representation in federal appointments and opportunities.
She subsequently returned to electoral politics and contested the APC primary for the Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 House of Representatives election. In May 2026, she emerged as the APC candidate for the constituency after the party's primary election in Ogoja and Yala.
Odey-Ekpo's career spans grassroots administration, state-level executive service, humanitarian activities and federal public service. Her emergence as the APC candidate for Ogoja/Yala places her among the candidates seeking to represent the constituency in the House of Representatives in the 2027 general election.