They are all on the starters block, rearing to go. Intrigued about the crowded contest in Delta State, Dan Amor zeroes in on one of the aspirants …
Choosing a runner at random is much like the luck of the draw. If you are fortunate, you would by chance pick up a nugget. Over the course of the preparation for the primaries it might be helpful to zero in at one of the runners. Why on earth do they run?
In the chequered story of Delta State, there have been a lot of aspirants who have been felled at in the first hurdle, so why is Tony Obuh running? A propelling motivation is a belief system which is anchored on continuity. In addition to a position to build upon the Ibori/Uduaghan foundation, he lays great emphasis on greater inclusiveness and more responsive governance. Rather astute in view of Delta’s fractitious ethnic diversity which influences the state’s politics.
At 23, Delta is one of Nigeria’s prime states, not only because of its status as one of the core Niger Delta states that produce oil in large quantity for Nigeria but also because of the quality of governance the state has witnessed since the current civilian political dispensation began in May 1999. Under its immediate past governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, the state which was hitherto brought to its knees due to the prolonged Ijaw/Itsekiri inter-tribal war, began to be portrayed amongst Nigeria’s First Eleven. Ibori confounded the book-makers and disproved the alliterative desperation of headline casters who thought that he would not go far. Even President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibori’s sworn enemy, had to burst into Christian songs when he commissioned the Bomadi Bridge which Ibori built to link Delta Ijaw from their hinterland to the outside world, the first since the beginning of their existence. Ibori’s successor, the incumbent governor, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan is no less an achiever, having won the annual Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Best Governor Award for three consecutive times. With the record already set on the quality of materials for leadership in the state, the task of choosing the next governor in the 2015 political dispensation would be even more arduous.
As the count-down to the 2015 electioneering gathers momentum, several aspirants , some contenders and some pretenders, have begun jostling for attention. One intriguing aspirant is Mr. Anthony Chuks Obuh, who has been long immersed in the public service. Born on January 27, 1957 into the Obuh family of Oki, Ika South Local Government Area, a family that has for long placed a premium on education, Chuks attended St. John II Primary School, Agbor (1964-1969), from where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate and thereafter proceeded to St. Anthony’s College, Ubu-uku and Government College, Ughelli (1969-1975) from where he obtained his School Certificate in ‘Division One’.
In 1975, he gained admission into the prestigious University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) from where he graduated with a combined honours degree in History/Political Science in 1979. Having equipped himself intellectually , Obuh joined the Teaching Service Commission of the defunct Bendel State in the capacity of Master Grade 2,and taught history at the Mary Mount College, Agbor from1980-1982. Following his desire to serve his state in a greater capacity, Obuh joined the administrative class of the then Bendel State civil service in 1982 as assistant secretary II, where with his can do propensity quickly detected punched above his weight.
In furtherance to the need to prepare himself to meet the challenges posed by the public service, he proceeded to the University of Ibadan, Ibadan in 1986 for a Masters degree in Industrial and Labor Relations (MIlR), which he successfully completed in September 1987. As a Principal Personnel Officer,Obuh was posted as Director of Personnel Management of the Governor’s Office. He rose through the ranks steadily and served in Directorial positions, cutting across various ministries and parastatals including: Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; Acting Chairman, Bendel Insurance Company Limited; Acting Chairman, UIDC; Alternate Director, PAMOL Industry Limited ;Director, Public Service Matters, Office of the Head of Service;General Manager Delta Transport Service Limited; Director, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Governor’s Office.
Having served in all the departments mentioned above, Obuh wasted no time in gaining the confidence and trust of the state government to serve in higher capacity where his experience and knowledge could be of greater value to the state. Consequently, in June 2006, he was appointed to the post of Permanent Secretary in the Delta State Public Service. Obuh is a member of the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and has also attended a number of seminars and workshops both in Nigeria and abroad. Due to his experience and hardwork, he was retained in the office of Secretary to the State Government where he had hitherto served as DIrector. This was an innovation in the administrative structure of the Office of the Secretary to the State Government as he was the pioneer permanent secretary. By June 2007, following his superlative performance in the Secretary to the State Government Office, Obuh was posted to the Directorate of Government House and Protocol from where he retired recently.
As permanent Secretary, Government House, Obuh was to steer a new challenge amongst the officers to be proactive and productive. He has galvanized and restructured the machinery of the Government House for improved productivity. Obuh in the course of it all has stayed on top of the game. His humility and cordial disposition cut across the junior and senior ranks. These qualities have enabled him to successfully strike a balance in the relationship between public servants and the political class. Obuh, an all-inclusive family man blessed with a lovely wife and four children (two boys and two girls), has been a source of inspiration to the officers in the public service. He intrigues because his will make a case study as to how far a technocrat can go in the rough and tumble of Nigeria’s politics.
