Ogiemwonyi will succeed Obaseki, says Gold-Idehen

The Special Adviser on Political Matters Chris Ogiemwonyi Campaign Organisation, Edo State, Emman Gold-Idehen, was Special Adviser on Projects Implementaion to former Governor Samuel Ogbemudia. In this interview with Southsouth Bureau chief, BISI OLANIYI, Gold-Idehen says Ogiemwonyi, an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant, will succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Edo State governorship primary election of the All Progressives  Congress (APC) is scheduled for June 2, this year. How will the winner emerge and what are the expected attributes?

The attributes, which an ideal politician should have, are integrity, performance and compassion. People usually refer to politicians as untrustworthy, but we believe that any decent politician must have credibility and integrity.

If I come to you and I say, ‘I am so impressed about what you are doing and I make a promise to see me tomorrow morning to deliver XYZ to you, based on what I see you do. If you come the next day and I stand by what I told you, that is a man of integrity’. So, if people refer to Chris Ogiemwonyi as a man of integrity, it is a big plus. He is a man they can trust. If he gives you his words, you can take it to the bank.

Another aspect is performance in public office. How prepared is the man looking for the job? Take a look at the antecedents and profiles of all the four aspirants he is contesting with. Find out what they did in the past and how they performed in those positions. If you look at Ogiemwonyi’s curriculum vitae, you will be overwhelmed. His profile and manifesto tell you how prepared he is. He did 34 years in the Nigerian National Petroleum  Corporation (NNPC).

As a young man from Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, Ogiemwonyi, by God’s providence, found himself in NNPC without a godfather. He is not Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba or Igbo. He is from the minority. While in NNPC, the 34 years he spent in upstream crude, he was able to distinguish himself. He is the first man in the history of NNPC that has been the chief executive of three prominent companies within the NNPC conglomerate: National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC) and the Nigerian Gas Company Limited (NGC). He was sent to NAPIMS to do a clean-up. Hitherto, the joint venture partners: Chevron and Mobil, were dictating to NAPIMS, which was supposed to be the other way round, but when he got there, he took charge to the extent that it was the body that was wagging the tail and not the other way round.

He also told the joint venture partners that over the years they favoured foreigners to the detriment of the people of the Niger Delta region. He insisted that he would give preference to the people from where the resources are sourced from and he was able to invite the indigenes or people from the catchment areas to benefit from the resources and that earned him the sobriquet ‘Mr. Local Content,’ because of what he was able to do to the advantage of the people.

At NPDC, Ogiemwonyi was the game changer. He increased the production level within a short period of time. It is on record that before the estimated time Mr. President gave to them, he made sure that delivery pipes to the various stations were working. In the history of NNPC, nobody heading the three components at management level has done what Ogiemwonyi did. In fact, he was pencilled down for the position of chief executive of NNPC, before other factors came in. He retired and within one year, he was made a minister, where he sat at the highest policy- making body at the Federal Executive Council (FEC). They saw in him as somebody that could bring value to the development of this country, with his performance.

Another key factor in determining who gets the ticket is compassion. You can have integrity, but no compassion. You can be a productive person on earth, but when you seek public elective positions, you need to have compassion and empathise, hear, smell and touch. If you cannot do that, you do not have business being in public office, because at the end of it all, if you cannot put smiles on people’s faces, you have failed. So, his mission is to uplift the standard of living of the people, because this is something he did in the past.

He said people call him ‘Mr. Integrity’ and ‘Mr. Local Content’, but he is more interested on how to impact on the lives of the people and this is in consonance with what he did in the past. That is why he is seeking to serve as governor.

As somebody in the middle management level at NNPC, he saw the level of poverty in his community, where he grew up. He was propelled to build boreholes in all the communities, having encountered a village girl that was blind owing to bad water, he built skill acquisition centre,  church and he provided generating set, all from his pocket.

Looking at the background of Ogiemwonyi, one would have expected that he would stay away from the murky waters of politics. Why politics for him?  

When he retired from the NNPC, there was a grand reception held in his honour. I was invited to come from Abuja. The place was populated with dignitaries, irrespective of political divides.  As a young man that grew up in Benin City, I have never seen that kind of reception or gathering in my life, besides the annual Igue festival. In the palace of the Oba of Benin, there was another reception for him. Esogban of Benin, Chief D.U. Edebiri, spoke glowingly about him. When he was asked by the Oba of Benin, Chief Edebiri said he was filled with spirit and passion for Ogiemwonyi. In fact, you must be a super man for the palace to throw a party for you. With all this, somebody asked him that since he is so loved in Edo State, why didn’t he translate it into politics?

So, it is because of the passion and love he has for the people of Edo state that made him to join politics. He said to himself he is not building any house or giving birth to children, but he wants to leave legacies like Ambrose Alli, Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

There are other governorship aspirants in the race for the ticket, who are also eminently qualified. What are his chances?

His chances are bright. I am not condemning anybody, but Ogiemwonyi stands out. When he becomes the governor of Edo State, he will only add to what he has done. So, the difference is clear. There are many people that he could not even remember to have assisted. Persons had walked up to him on many occasions to thank him on account of how he earlier helped them. We need someone who can put smiles on the faces of the people. The economy of the country is so bad. We need somebody who can combine human and natural resources, a tested hand.

Some critics of Ogiemwonyi are of the view that he is too elitist. What is your reaction?

What is elitist about a young man that grew up in the village? He is from a humble background. He did not grow up in the Government Reservation Area (GRA). He is a home boy. He had his primary, secondary and university education in Benin. In fact, he does more of local dance than myself that grew up in the city. He can fit into any class. For someone who can wine and dine with the high and mighty, middle class and the downtrodden, he is the kind of man that we are looking for, for the job, especially to take over from Governor Godwin Obaseki on November 12, 2020.