As you may already know, a Federal
High Court in Abuja has in its judgment directed the Governor of Abia State,
Okezie Ikpeazu, to vacate office immediately for submitting false tax returns
to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, for the governorship primary that
held in December 2014.
Justice Okon Abang in a judgment on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately issue a certificate of return to the plaintiff, Uche Ogah, who polled the second highest number of votes in the primary. Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has since filed an appeal against the ruling. Not many have heard about Uche Ogah and his antecedents in and outside politics. We bring to you a profile of the man who may likely emerge the next Governor of Abia State if the Supreme court finally rules against Ikpeaz
PROFILE
Uchechukwu S. Ogah (born 22 December
1969) is a Nigerian oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist.
Ogah is the President of Master Energy Group,[1] a conglomerate with over 15
subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries. Ogah holds the Nigerian
national honour, the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) [2]
Early
life and Education
Ogah was born to Chief Wilson and
Ezinne Pauline Ogah of Onuaku Uturu,Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia
State.
Ogah attended Ishiagu High School,
after which he worked at West African Examination Council (WAEC) from 1986–89,
before he proceeded to the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu
State [3] where he obtained Upper Credit at Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in
1992 and Distinction at the Higher National Diploma (HND) Level in 1995 in
Accounting. He also attended University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) where he
obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in 2005. He also has a Bachelor of Science
degree (Banking and Finance) from Ogun State University and a Masters in
Business Administration (MBA) from University of Lagos. Ogah obtained his ACA
in 2007. He is a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
(ICAN);[4] Fellow, Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria; Fellow, Nigerian
Institute of Shipping; Fellow, Employment & Career and member, Chartered
Institute of Bankers.
Career
Ogah began his career as a banker with
a year of National Youth Service year at NAL Bank Plc. Thereafter, he took up
full employment at All States Trust Bank where he worked for around two years
before joining Zenith Bank in 1997. At Zenith Bank, he set a record of growing
a new branch from zero balance sheets to over N9 billion and rose to the
position of an Assistant General Manager (AGM) in Zenith Bank.[5] He resigned in
2007 to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.
Business
Concern
As he left Zenith bank, Ogah founded
Master Energy Group.[6] Ogah is currently the President of Master Energy Group
– a conglomerate with workforce of about 42, 000 [7] with interests in oil
& gas, banking, insurance, aviation, shipping, dredging, logistics,
construction, travel services, and power.
Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited has
grown into a conglomerate with investments worth tens of billions of naira. At
a time when investors were exiting the Niger Delta because its security
challenges, Masters Energy City invested billions of naira in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State. Ae single investment, a 158,000 tonne petroleum products storage
facility provided direct employment to over 600 citizens of the Niger Delta
region, and over 4,000 ancillary positions.
Masters Energy City contains a
fabrication yard, established in 20. It fabricates and constructs equipment for
use in the oil and gas industry and other sectors. The fabrication yard has
constructed two different 1,000 MT capacity barges and is presently
constructing additional three barges. Masters Energy sells petroleum products
at over 60 retail outlets in Nigeria at government’s approved pump price. Its
depot in Port Harcourt also sells products at government’s approved depot
price.
In December 2011, the Executive
Governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore A. Orji, laid the foundation stone of
Masters Energy Industrial City in Isikwuato. This industrial complex is
expected to grow the economy of Abia State by attracting investment from across
Africa.
Philanthropy:
The Uche Ogah Foundation
In December, 2001, Ogah established
Uche Ogah Foundation which aims to provide empowerment, poverty alleviation,
and providing education for the less privileged.
He had sponsored free medical services
in different parts of Nigeria, in addition to building and equipping a number
of modern hospitals in his native community, Uturu and other communities in
Nigeria.[12] He also partnered with a number of medical centres, including the
Hopeville Rehabilitation Centre, to fabricate artificial limbs and calipers for
people with a disability.[13]
Ogah has offered scholarships to both
primary and secondary students across Nigeria since 2006. He instituted a chair
at the Abia State University and is building a 5,000 capacity auditorium in the
same university.
Awards
and Recognition
In 2014, Ogah was awarded, a national
award - the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Federal government
of Nigeria
His
other awards and honours include:
Honorary Doctorate degree in Business
Administration by Abia State University
Ambassador, Governing Council of the
Nigeria-Tur
key Chamber of Commerce and Industry
2013 Nigerian – American Chamber of
Commerce Outstanding Entrepreneur by Nigerian - American Chamber of Commerce
Oke Oji Abia by Abia State Government
Pride of Abia by Hallmark Newspaper
Ltd
Ambassador of Peace, UN-POLAC
Effective Leadership Award by Global Youths Awareness & Development.
Initiative (GYADI)
Ikenga Award for Excellence on
Entrepreneurship by Ikenga
Award for Excellence Foundation
Entrepreneurship Promoter of the Year by Entrepreneurship Promotions Academy
Africa
Peace Award by Global Achievers Media
Ltd
Anya Na Eche Ibe by Igbo Speaking
Community in Lagos State
Distinguished Award for Excellence for
Philanthropic and Developmental Projects by Salvage Africa
Igbo Icon Award by National
Association of Igbo Students, LASU Humanitarian Service Award by Rotaract
District 9130 Nigeria
Episcopal Award for Faith Motivation
by Bishop Isikwuato/Umunneochi, Anglican Corporate Excellence Award for
Accomplishments in Private Sector Development by Institute of Management. &
Technology, Enugu, (Aba Chapter)
An Icon of Empowerment by National
Association of Southern Nigeria Students
Diamond Father of the Year, 2012 by
Catholic Men’s Organisation, Masters Dei Cathedral Parish, Umuahia
(From Wikepedia)
Politics
In 2014, Dr. Uche Ogah, rejected the
outcome of the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary
held in Umuahia. Ogah, who came second in the contest with 103 votes, claimed
that the exercise was fraught with fraud. Ogah said there was no credible and
proper accreditiation of the delegates who participated in the primary, giving
way to admission of non-delegates to vote in the exercise. “I know there was no
formal accreditation and people were given tags just to go and vote. Everything
in Abia is fraud; why? Everything, from beginning to the end,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment