With INEC’s Certificate of Return in his kitty, oil magnate, Uche Ogah, is already altering the tempo of governorship in ‘God’s Own State’. Senior Copy Editor, INNOCENT ANORUO, profiles this new kid on the block of Abia politics.
He was known in Abia State not as a career politician, but a businessman who, by philanthropy, has touched several lives in the state and beyond through his Uche Ogah Foundation. But his attempt at touching lives on a higher scale using public resources saw him altering the political paradigm in the state. The sphygmomanometer used on the state’s politics was put to task. He emerged the favourite, only second to the favourite of the powers-that-be.
Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah is his name.
Governor-in-waiting?
As at Friday, July 8, Abia, known as ‘God’s Own State’ in Nigeria, continued in crisis as well as jubilation. The section of Abians in jubilant mood, no doubt, are those in support of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, whose election was affirmed by the Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State.
Justice Ambrose Allagoa had ruled on Friday, July 8, that the plaintiff, Friday Nwosu, was unable to prove that the tax documents which Ikpeazu filed while gunning for election were forged. Hence the court held that the tax documents were not forged. The case was therefore dismissed.
But on the camp of Uche Ogah, who placed second behind Ikpeazu at the last Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries in the state, there was still optimism that the oil magnate would still claim his mandate as the bona fide governor of Abia. Giving fillip to the optimism in Ogah’s camp is that their principal is still clutching the Certificate of Return given to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
After the PDP governorship primaries, Ogah felt cheated. For him, Ikpeazu could not have been the governorship candidate of his party. Probably not wanting to ‘fight’ with the powers-that-be then, he decided to exploit one of his jokers. He approached the court to open what may be described as the Pandora’s box reportedly with links to Ikpeazu. The documents he tendered to the courts claimed that his rival evaded tax at some point but paid up when he was about to contest election as governor.
Consequently, Justice Okon Abang on Monday, June 27, declared Ikpeazu unfit to occupy the Abia governor’s office for allegedly submitting false information to the PDP, ahead of the party’s governorship primary in December 2014. He was ordered to vacate office as governor while INEC was ordered to immediately issue a Certificate of Return to Ogah, who polled the second highest number of votes in the primary.
They’ve got Ogah’s back
Before Friday’s Owerri ruling, traditional leaders in Abia had hailed the sack of Ikpeazu. They want Ogah to be sworn in as governor.
Leader of the group and traditional Prime Minister of Ibeku Kingdom, Uche Akwukwaegbu, in a communique read at the end of the traditional rulers’ meeting in Umuahia reportedly backed Ogah as governor of the state.
The forum “frowns at the negative reactions of some reactionary forces who see the Abuja High Court and INEC decision as hasty, as people who are used to disobeying court orders, which President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is fighting hard to change.
“This forum views the attitude and reaction of the Adolphus Wabara-led Abia Concerned Elders as that of people who are yet to cue into the President Buhari change mantra.
“The public is advised to disregard the information contained in the communique as sponsored by those who have contributed in no small measure to the collapse and stunted growth of our dear Abia State.
“This forum would not have responded to the communique, as published in the media by the so-called Concerned Elders, if not for the falsehood, distortion of facts and misleading effects on the people as contained in their so-called communique.
“As the true representatives of the people of Abia State, we condemn …the purported meeting in Abuja by some people from Abia State in the name of Concerned Elders of the state as their resolutions do not reflect in any way the reality on the ground.”
The group added that the people of Abia want Ogah to be governor and urged the “Adolphus Wabara-led Abia Concerned Elders” to convince Ikpeazu to quit his fight to remain governor of the state.
“The true position of things in Abia is that all Abians – male and female, young and old, irrespective of clan, religion and political group – are yearning for Dr. Uche Ogah, hence the hilarious and wild celebration that was witnessed on all streets and villages in the state.
“All interest groups, professional bodies, youths and women’s groups and community leaders passionately desire a turnaround in the state, and everyone is happy that a court of law has finally restored the mandate of the people’s choice, Dr. Ogah.
“We, therefore, emphatically declare our unwavering support for the court ruling, demanding the swearing-in of Dr. Ogah immediately, as the Abuja Federal High Court ordered.”
To resolve the political impasse in Abia, a Lagos lawyer, Onyekachi Ubani, has called on the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, to set in motion the swearing-in of Ogah as governor.
Ubani, a former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, told newsmen on Wednesday, July 7, in Lagos: “The order of the court was that INEC should immediately issue a certificate of return to Ogah and that he should be sworn in by the Chief Judge of Abia State.
“So, the order of the court must be obeyed until it is upheld or reversed by a superior court. Such an order cannot be arrested by a court of coordinate jurisdiction.”
“The law today is that Ogah has been issued with the Certificate of Return. I am, therefore, calling on the AGF and the IG to ensure that Ogah is sworn in, since there is no stay of execution from a superior court or any other order contrary to that effect.”
Roadblocks
With Justice Abang’s ruling of June 27, Ogah should be in Abia Government House today, but for road blocks. The euphoria of the ruling coincided with the death of former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe on June 29. According to Ikpeazu, to honour Maduekwe, public holiday was declared in Abia.
However, many believe that the holiday was unnecessary, moreso when there was no tangible thing Maduekwe did for his people. They said it was Ikpeazu’s tactic to buy time, and prevent Ogah from assuming power as governor.
On June 30, Ikpeazu had set out for Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, for a function in which he was billed to deliver the keynote address. He was yet to get to the venue of the function when news filtered in that INEC had issued Certificate of Return to Ogah. He had to rush to Government House, Umuahia.
Also, Ogah’s traducers claim that there is a grand plan, “now in its well advanced stage”, to swear in Ogah, who will then subsequently defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) which is holding sway at the centre, on the excuse of the factionalisation within the PDP between Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Markafi.
On the other hand, Ukwa Ngwa youths, who unequivocally affirm the popular Abia Charter of Equity and PDP zoning formula which provides that the governorship seat shall rotate among the three senatorial districts of Abia South, Abia Central and Abia North, said Ogah’s Abia North had had its turn in the governance of the state.
TheNiche gathered from Ogah’s camp that no roadblock can discourage their principal. Even the July 8 Owerri High Court ruling, they said, cannot stand because it did not come from a superior court to the one that ordered that Ogah be sworn in as governor.
Man of the people
Sampson Ogah is born on December 22, 1969 to Wilson and Pauline Ogah of Onuaku Uturu, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.
The oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist attended Ishiagu High School, after which he worked at West African Examination Council (WAEC) from 1986 to 1989, before he proceeded to the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu State 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); Fellow, Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria; Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Shipping; Fellow, Employment & Career; Member, Chartered Institute of Bankers; and Member, Governing Council of the Nigeria-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Philanthropy
In December, 2001, Ogah established Uche Ogah Foundation which aims to provide empowerment, poverty alleviation, and education for the less-privileged. He has 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. 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.
Ogah has offered scholarships to both primary and secondary students across Nigeria since 2006. He instituted a chair at the Abia State University (ABSU) and is building a 5,000-capacity auditorium in the same university.
For his philanthropy, President Goodluck Jonathan honoured him with Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2014.
Business concerns
Ogah worked with Zenith Bank before he founded Masters Energy Group. He is currently the president of group – a conglomerate with workforce of about 42,000 with interests in oil and 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 that investors were exiting the Niger Delta because of its security challenges, Masters Energy City invested billions of naira in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. A 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, which fabricates and constructs equipment for use in the oil and gas industry and other sectors. The fabrication yard has constructed two different 1,000 metric tonnes 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, then governor of Abia, Theodore Orji, laid the foundation stone of Masters Energy Industrial City in Isuikwuato. This industrial complex is expected to grow the economy of Abia by attracting investment from across Africa.
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Other awards and recognitions
His other awards and honours include:
Honorary Doctorate degree in Business Administration by Abia State University.
Ambassador, Governing Council of the Nigeria-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
2013 Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Entrepreneur.
Oke Oji Abia by Abia State Government.
Pride of Abia by Hallmark Newspaper.
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.
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 Isuikwuato/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, Mater Dei Cathedral Parish, Umuahia.
