By Baron Ike
Ahead of May 2019 take over of government and confident that Nigerians will vote them into power, the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) has appointed some Nigerians into key ministerial offices.
By this, the party has created the record as the first political party to form a Shadow Government in Nigeria, an indication of state of preparedness for governance.
Announcing the (first batch of the) appointees yesterday, Dauda MoiSoro, Chairman of the Special Select Committee on Shadow Ministers said, “They will provide an effective oversight for the activities of the incumbent APC administration, which must be supervised by our vigilance against misguided policies and programmes.”
“The ANRP Shadow Cabinet, fully manned, will be vibrant, visionary and vocal in holding the APC administration accountable, as well as proposing policy solutions and alternatives from ANRP’s perspective that will effectively build a Great Nigeria that works for all,” he said on Thursday.
All emerged after a thorough and competitive screening exercise that included written tests.
The first batch of appointees are: OBINNA ALIGWEKWE (Health) –a medical practitioner with an MBBS from University of Nigeria Nsukka. He has worked in several health institutions in Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, and currently in the United Kingdom specifically in acute internal medicine.
LANRE OBAFEMI (Petroleum): A Materials Engineering graduate of OAU Ife where he graduated with a Second Class Honours (Upper Division). He also has a Masters of Technology in Petroleum Technology from Curtin Univeristy (Distinction), Australia and a Master of Business Administration from the China-Europe International Business School.
He has 17 years experience working in different international oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil.
OBINNA OGUERI (Solid Minerals): Born in Lagos State, Nigeria, Obinna Ogueri is a business man and serial entrepreneur with extensive experience spanning banking operations at Diamond Bank Plc, manufacturing, marketing, sales and building construction.
Having been trained and mentored in high-efficiency enterprises,Obinna had his first degree in Chemical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also has B.Sc and M.Sc degrees in Economics from the University of Abuja and the Nigeria Defence Academy, respectively. He has attended several professional and entrepreneurship courses anchored by Kaduna Business School, DfID, African Management Initiative, and Tom Associates to name a few.
He is presently the CEO of a building services construction firm and on the board of turnkey building services. among others.
Ogueri is a member of The Nigeria-America Chamber of Commerce and also the State Secretary, ANRP Imo State Chapter. A nationalist with a passionate belief in the Nigerian dream and has lived and worked in all parts of Nigeria.
HENRIETTA OCHOLI (Works and Housing): An Estate Manager and serial entrepreneur. She studied at the Federal Polytechnic in Nasarawa and graduated with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Estate Management and Valuation.
Her work experience span banking, real estate, business development, trading, retail dealerships, business development, etc.
Ocholi is very passionate about national development, and has special interests in gender issues and human rights. She is the ANRP State Secretary for the FCT.
USMAN MBAEKWE (Trade, Investment and Industry): A seasoned project manager, engineering management expert, and entrepreneur with over 17 years’ experience in the oilfield and consulting environment.
He has had stints with reputable organisations at home and abroad including Oildata, Schlumberger, Bausch & Lomb, and ExxonMobil Corporation.
Mbaekwe holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt and a post-graduate degree in Reservoir Evaluation & Management from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. He is married to Helen and they have five lovely children.
In ANRP, Usman is a house hold name, he continues to contribute to the development of our party in several states.
Aside from these, the appointment of 5 other Shadow Ministers (4 males and 1 female) is being processed. The ongoing batching is focusing on expanding the areas of talent, national spread and diversity.
The work of the Shadow Ministers commences immediately. They shall be receiving a concise job function descriptions, activity guides, and key performance indicators from the Party Secretariat. They all shall be regularly monitored to assess operational performance and effectiveness.
ANRP thanks them for their patriotism and wishes them the best in this new endeavour.