October 21, (THEWILL) – Traditional rulers, elders, women groups, youth groups, and a peace advocacy group in the South-South region, known as the Movement for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND), have commended President Muhammadu Buhari, over the appointment of Engr. Dr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, as Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
According to the stakeholders, the appointment of Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, who is from Delta state, is a clear show of commitment to the setting up of a substantive board for the commission, with a list of nominees to be submitted to the National Assembly soon.
The traditional rulers, elders, women groups, and youth groups, under the auspices of the Movement for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND), in a statement issued via electronic mail and signed by its National Coordinator, Chief Ayibatekena Olodin, said the people of the region are more convinced that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is sincere in his approach at handing the region, a more proactive, substantive NDDC board, with the appointment of Audu-Ohwavborua, which clearly stated that he will take over and perform the duties of the managing director in an acting capacity.
“We welcome the appointment of Engr. Dr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, we commend President Buhari for the timely show of commitment to the prayers of the people of the Niger Delta region. The Acting MD is a round peg in a round hole, and he is expected to prepare the template for the tidy and effective transition for the substantive board of the commission.”
Engr. Dr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua (FNSE, PMP), is a public administrator, a certified Project Manager (PMP), an entrepreneur with an interest in agriculture, and a fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (FNSE). He is currently a serving Senior Director at the Delta State office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a public sector organisation established by law in 2000 to address the developmental deficits of the impoverished oil-bearing Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.
With degrees in electrical engineering and business administration, as well as professional certification in Project Management, an award in March 2019 for Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), with a specialisation in Project Management, he has had over 30 years of experience working in diverse sectors ranging from engineering designs, industrial and production management, through power plant engineering to project management.
“About one-third of these years, he invested in the private sector having worked in Dresser Kellogg Energy Services Limited, Granherne Limited (United Kingdom), and Bonny Allied Industries Limited (Rock Cement). He also worked at the now-defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), and the National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). A fast-growing entrepreneur, he is the Chairman of Emmppek Farms Limited, a privately owned commercial agricultural enterprise (with a speciality in both animal and crop production), located in the South-South region of Nigeria.
He successfully completed the Master Class Certificate in Business Management & Leadership in March 2019 at the London Graduate School. In May 2015, he successfully completed a “Business Model Innovations” programme at the Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University. He also successfully completed a certificate programme on Negotiation at the Harvard Law School, Boston, USA, in 2012.
He is the author of the recently released book (August 2020), “REAL ENEMIES OF THE NIGER DELTA.” A book that captures the plight of a people and land so blessed, yet beleaguered, impoverished, and generally taken for granted. It examines some historical, social-political, and economic challenges that the hydrocarbon-rich Niger Delta faces, and makes a prescription for not only its transformation, but also how the NDDC can catalyze the envisaged transformative process.
For his meritorious service to humanity, he has been honoured with many awards, some of which are Chartered Management Consultant (CMC) – 2020; Fellow Nigeria Society of Engineers (FNSE) – 2014; Construction & Engineering Digest (CED) – Construction Industry Hall of Fame – 2019; Fellow of the Institute of Oil & Gas Research & Hydrocarbon Studies in Strategic Project Management – 2018; Delta Heritage Award – Mentorship & Purposeful Leadership – 2018; CED Forum Award of Excellence (Engineering Practice and Public Sector Governance and Performance Category) – 2015.
Others are Fellow Institute of Corporate Administration (FICA) – 2010; Fellow Nigeria Institution of Highway Engineers – 2015; African Achievers Award (AAA) on integrity in Public Service at the British House of Commons, Westminster, United Kingdom in 2017; Black Heritage International award as One of the 50 Foremost Nigerian Engineering Icon – 2017; African Child Foundation Award on Integrity in Public Administration – 2018; Garden City Advancement Award for Best Practices in Public Service – 2018.
Engr. Dr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua is married to his lovely Nkechi and they both have five children – Jennifer, Eguono, Preston, Nneka and Oghenemaro. The family is a devout Christian, and he is a Deacon in The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dayspring Parish, Port Harcourt. He loves to read, work out, watch movies, and play lawn tennis.
About the Author
