NDDC’s Who Is Who

A mini-biography of the eggheads behind the continuing successes of the Niger Delta Development Commission

By Funke WILLIAMS

Air Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan (Rtd.), Chairman, Governing Board

Undoubtedly, Air Vice Marshal (retd.) Larry Koinyan, one of Nigeria’s finest breed of military officers with a track record of sterling stewardship, heads the Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Though he hails from Trofani, Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Larry Koinyan was born on May 31, 1942 in Enugu, Enugu State. After his secondary education at Stella Maris College, Port Harcourt, Rivers State in 1962, Koinyan worked briefly with the Niger Delta Development Board before enlisting into the Nigeria Air Force, NAF, as an Officer Cadet in 1963.

During his eventful career, Koinyan attended numerous courses both in Nigeria and overseas and served in various capacities, including Platoon Commander ‘B’ Company, Garrison Battalion, Nigerian Army, Benin (1966), Adjutant, 41 Battalion, Nigerian Army 4th Area Command Asaba (1967).

At the end of the civil war where he played a key role, Koinyan was seconded to the NAF, where he held various Command and Staff appointments before ending up as Member, Supreme Military Council (1984-1985); and Member, Armed Forces Ruling Council (1985-1989). Though he retired from the NAF in January 1989 with the rank of Air Vice Marshal, AVM, Koinyan retained his position as Chairman, Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure until 1993. Since then, he has rededicated himself to the emancipation of the Niger Delta people who he has continued to serve in various capacities.

Chibuzor Ugwoha, Managing Director/CEO

Blessed with smouldering good looks that can set off fire alarms, Chibuzor Ugwoha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, is one of a few breed of public officers who came into office with a well-articulated vision and developmental plans. Since his appointment a little over a year ago, Ugwoha has been breaking barriers, wading through troubled foliages without fear and inadvertently rewriting the chequered history of a people and its rich, but despoiled flora and fauna.

Not surprisingly, the federal government which head-hunted him to Paris, France where he was working and undergoing an Executive MBA programme at HEC, Paris, must have seen beyond his unassuming disposition, to touch base with his real essence: a tenacious streak for success spiced with a bullish drive to enthrone an ideal Niger Delta. “We must create a new Niger Delta where people can live and work in an environment that is economically and environmentally sustainable. People must be able to put food on their table, by which I also mean there has to be access to the modern way of living,” he said shortly after his appointment on August 6, 2009.

This resolve does not come as a surprise to those who have always known the MD/CEO. Born in 1964, Ugwoha attended the Erema Primary School in his native village. Secondary school education was at the Stella Marris College where he shone so well and made grades that qualified him for admission into the University of Port Harcourt. He graduated in 1988 with a second class upper degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He was posted to Katsina State for the mandatory national youth service. Thereafter, he was admitted to study for a post-graduate degree programme in Urban Regional Planning, URP. Ugwoha loves to impart knowledge and engage in intellectual debates. Thus, he chose to tee off his career as a teacher at the Government Technical College, Farufaru, Sokoto State. Later, he returned to his village where he got a job with the College of Education. Before long, he had risen to the post of Head of Department, Building Technology. In 1997, he was employed as a Land and Claims Officer by Elf Nigeria Limited. Ugwoha occupied many enviable offices at the behemoth multinational, including Land Claims Manager, Community Affairs Manager, Enterprise Development Manager and Deputy General Manager in charge of sustainable development. Elf would later second Ugwoha to Paris and it was while there that he was invited home by late President Umaru Yar’adua to bring his repertory of experience to bear on the NDDC.

Joyfully married to Ogechi Vivian since 1999, the Ugwohas are blessed with kids. Despite his busy schedule, the NDDC MD/CEO still finds time to indulge in his favourite pastimes – playing tennis and swimming.

Pastor Power Ziakede Aginighan, Executive Director, Finance and Administration

For as long as one could recall, Pastor Power Aginighan has been in the service of humanity. From his college days, PZ, as he is fondly called by his admirers, has always held leadership positions. At Government College, Bomadi, where he doubled as the best essayist and best Mathematics student in his final year, a rare feat by any student, he served as Secretary, Press Club and the Literary and Debating Society. Between 1979 and 1980, he was General Secretary of the Students’ Union Government, Rivers State University of Science and Technology; General Secretary of the Association of Accountancy Students and Public Relations Officer of the Students Literary Movement, RSUST, Secretary of Constitutional Conference of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, in April 1980.

In recognition of his selfless contributions to the growth of Students’ Unionism in Nigeria, he was conferred with Life Membership of the Students Union of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology in 1984 by the Students’ Union Parliament. At the College of Education, Warri, where he served from 1982 to 1983, Aginighan was popularly elected President of the Senior Staff Association as well as representative of the Congregation in the College Governing Council. He also served as National Public Relations Officer, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Alumni Association. In the struggle for better living conditions for the Niger Delta people, Aginighan’s voice has been vociferous.

He was Director-General of the Ijaw Youths Action League (1980-1983), Secretary of the Ijaw Community, Warri (1985-1991), and Secretary, Delta Ijaw Consultative Committee, among many others. Born on January 9, 1959 at Ezebri in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, he obtained the Higher National Diploma in Accountancy in 1981 at the then College of Science and Technology. He also holds the Bachelor of Science in Accountancy as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the same University.

Aginighan started his public service career as an Accountant at the College of Education, Warri, from where he rose to the position of Principal Accountant. An associate member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, ANAN, as well as Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, he joined the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, as Assistant Director of Finance and Accounts in April 1993, a position he held until 2001 when he was absorbed by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. He was later promoted to the position of Deputy Director, Finance and Supply in March 2003. A distinguished writer and unrepentant campaigner for a prosperous, progressive and peaceful Niger Delta, in 1977, Pastor Aginighan was appointed Ag. Executive Director, Finance and Administration, NDDC on the 28th of May 2000. He once acted as Managing Director/Chief Officer of the Commission.

Esoetok Ikpong Ikpong Etteh, Executive Director, Projects

It is not disputatious; Esoetok Ikpong Ikpong Etteh is compulsive and passionate about his profession, architecture. In a more literal, and profound sense, he is one of the architects of the emerging face of the new Niger Delta. As the Executive Director of projects devoted to making life better for the oil-rich but underdeveloped region, this renowned architect has been credited with only appending the commission’s name to sustainable and visible developmental projects, not, grandiose, white-elephant projects that the people only hear about but do not see.

Etteh was born on September 1, 1946 at Ukpenekan, Ibeno Local Lovernment Area, Akwa Ibom State. After his primary school, he was admitted into the Methodist Boys High School, Oron, where he obtained his West African School Certificate, WASC, in 1965, and later GCE ‘A Level from Federal School of Arts and Science, Lagos in 1968. He bagged his Bachelor of Science, B.Sc (Arch) degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria in 1972, followed by a master’s degree in the same discipline in 1974. Arc. Etteh was elected Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architects in 1994.The Executive Director, Projects started his professional career as a lecturer in his alma mater from 1974-75, and then worked briefly as an architect in the Ministry of Works, Ibadan in 1975. He joined Niger Consultants (Architects Planners) in 1976 as a resident architect, and rose to become Associate Partner. The urge to be independent led him to establish PACS Associates, a firm of architectural and planning consultants in 1981 and was its Principal Partner till his appointment as Executive Director, Projects, NDDC. He has served in many public committees and councils, including Chairman, Works and Projects Committee, Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, Akwa Ibom State Zonal Director, Eastern Zone, OMPADEC, 1998-2000, and Member of Council, (Akwa Ibom State) Niger Delta Coastal State of Development and Empowerment Council, among others.

Harrison Onwo, Director, Legal Services

Next year, precisely on December 3, Harrison Onwo would turn 50. However, he has recorded so many achievements in his life that would make people decades older than he is wonder at his seeming precociousness. A native of Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, Onwo obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from the University of Benin, Edo State in 1986 and was called to the Bar the following year

Before then, he had been engaged by the Ministry of Education in Ekpoma, now in Edo State, as a Clerical Assistant. Thereafter, he was employed by the College of Education, Warri as a Clerical Officer in 1981, and later moved to the position of Senior Clerical Officer and Assistant Executive Officer in 1982 in the same institution.

His eventful legal odyssey began at the firm of A.K Osawota & Co, as a legal practitioner, and was there till 1990. He set up a private law firm, Harrison Onwo & Co in 1993, and was its principal partner until 2003 when he joined the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as Director, Youths, Sports, Culture and Women Affairs. Until his recent redeployment, he was the Director, Education, Health and Social Services.

Dr. Princewill Ekanim, Director, Youth, Sports and Women Affairs

Though an accomplished medical doctor with over two decades work experience, Dr. Princewill Ekanim has been mandated to manage everything that involves the youths, sports and women of the Niger Delta. Understandably, women are the bedrock of the society while youths have to be well acquitted to take on the challenges the future poses. Over the years, too, the role of sports in a society has become even more solidified. All of these did not escape the Management of the NDDC which searched far and wide before deciding to give these briefs on no other person than Dr. Ekanim. His employers know his diverse qualities. And now, people of the Niger Delta cannot but laud his appointment.

Born in 1957, Dr. Princewill Ekanim had his primary education at St. Paul’s Lutheran School, Ikot Ibiok in Eket, before proceeding to the prestigious Etinam Institute between 1969 and 1973 where he emerged the best all-round student in 1971. For his Higher School Certificate, he was at the Calabar Polytechnic between 1974 and 1976 before proceeding to University of Ibadan in 1978 where he obtained his MBBS degree in 1984.

After the compulsory internship and NYSC at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua, Uyo in 1985 and Ogun State University Medical Centre in 1986 respectively, he was involved briefly in private medical practice in Lagos, before returning to Akwa Ibom in 1988, where he was deployed to Union Cottage Hospital, Asong, by the State Health Management Board.

Later, the lure of private practice took over and he returned to Ikot Abasi to set up his own clinic  Fortune Medical Centre – reputed for its annual surgical programme that had benefitted hundreds of Niger Deltans. In the intervening years, he built an impeccable reputation of a philanthropist, a devout Christian and a distinguished surgeon for himself.

In 2000, Dr. Princewill Ekanim was appointed Special Assistant to the Executive Director (Project) in NDDC, a position he held till 2003 when he was made Deputy Director in the Special Projects Directorate of the Commission. In June 2004, he was redeployed to the Directorate of Commercial and Industrial Development, CID, and his schedule was Capacity Building, Peace Building, Conflict Resolution, Job Creation, Poverty Reduction – in short, comfortable living within the human population of the Niger Delta Region and beyond. He also supervises Information Technology Department where he is already working on policies and procedures in all areas of IT administration in the Commission.

Egbejule Jimoh Oma, Ag. Director, Finance & Supply

Egbejule Jimoh Oma was born on October 7, 1957 in Ugbuwangue, Warri South, Delta State. Like his other peers, he was enrolled in primary school. When the time came, Hussey College, Warri, was his preference for secondary school education. But it was at the Institute of Continuing Education, Benin City that he obtained the General Certificate of Education, GCE and WASC between 1975 and 1976. He then proceeded to the Auchi Polytechnic where he obtained OND and later, HND in Accountancy.

A thorough-bred accountant with an uncommon culture for details, he cut his teeth as an Accountant at the Investment and Credit Corporation of Oyo State, Ibadan, where he did his national youth service between 1982 and 1983. By 1983, he was at V.O. Odiase and Co. (Chartered Accountants) Lagos, from where he moved to Ibru Sea Foods Ltd, Lagos, between 1984 and 1985 as Assistant Accountant. His commitment, dedication and forthrightness were later to be discovered by the Ibru Group, which explains why he was moved to Superbru Ltd, another Ibru organization at Ughelli, Delta State. Oma had a brief stint at the University of Benin in 1988 as Accountant I (Audit). His career blossomed between 1989 and 1993 when he joined Life Flour Mill Ltd, Sapele, first as Project Accountant and later, Assistant Chief Accountant. It was from here that the defunct OMPADEC employed him, first as Project Manager before he was promoted Principal Accountant, Abuja office. In 2001, his appointment was formally transferred to the Niger Delta Development Commission where he has remained till date. The father of four rose to the pinnacle of his career in 2005 when he was invested as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Princess Henrietta Ingo Ogan (Ph.D), Director, Planning, Research and Statistics

Being a descendant of the royal family of the late Amanyanabo of Okrika, His Royal Majesty, Sir S.P.U. Ogan, is enough challenge in itself. This is because so much is expected of such offspring especially for one who, despite being a female, has shown leadership traits from her teenage years. That has been the lot of Princess (Dr.) Henrietta Ogan. History has however been very kind to this astute professional who has achieved even more successes than anybody gave her a chance to. Princess Ogan attended Okrika Girls School and finished in 1975 at Government Girls Secondary School, Harbour Road, Port Harcourt. She was admitted to study for a Diploma in Insurance at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1978. She was later to obtain a B.Sc in Business Administration and MBA in 1984 from the same University. The unassuming but vastly knowledgeable Princess has gone on to acquire a Ph.D in Marketing and a Postgraduate Diploma in Petroleum and Environmental Law from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, RSUST,  Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt.

She has worked variously at the Rivers State College of Science and Technology, now RSUST, as an Accounts Clerk; the RivBank Insurance as Assistant Superintendent; lecturer at her alma mater and at the RSUST, where she is now an Adjunct Senior Lecturer. Princess (Dr.) Ogan was at the defunct OMPADEC as Assistant Director between 1993 and 1996 where she held various positions such as Assistant Director, Liaison office, Abuja and Assistant Director, Community Development. By 2001, her appointment with OMPADEC was formally transferred to the NDDC as Deputy Director, Administration and Human Resources. An author of international repute, Princess (Dr.) Ogan is a winner of over 20 awards of several professional associations.

Arc. Mgboji Alexander Okenwa – Head, Design Department

Architect Mgboji Alexander Okenwa is the Head, Design Department at the NDDC. Born on February 14, 1958, Okenwa had his pre-primary and primary education at (St. Theresa’s) State School, Aggah-Egbema where he came out with distinction in 1972. From 1973 to 1977, he attended St. Aquinas Secondary School, Elele. He was admitted into the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1978 where he obtained the highest professional degree in Architecture; B.Arch. (M.Sc. (Arch) equivalent) in 1984. He went on to enroll with the City and Guilds of London and obtained HTD in Construction Technology in 1998. Not done yet, Arc. Okenwa voyaged into Legal Studies and obtained a National Diploma in Law in 2007.

Conscious of how far hard work and enterprise can take one in life, Okenwa started working for his own money even before he was admitted into the university. As a youth corps member between 1984 and 1985, he was in charge of the Project Unit of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State. Back home in 1986, he secured employment with Adapalm Nig. Ltd, Owerri, as a Building Supervisor. He rose rapidly to the position of Head of Works and Services in 1991 within which period he supervised both the mechanical works and civil construction of the various estates of the Company. He also designed and supervised the execution of 17 World Bank building projects sited in Adapalm’s Landlord Communities. From 1993 to 1999, he was a staff of the defunct OMPADEC, first as the Chief Engineer, then the Chief Architect in the Project Monitoring Directorate and later, the Zonal Coordinator for Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Imo states. He transferred his services to the present NDDC in 2000 as a Principal Manager in the Directorate of Utilities, Infrastructural Development & Waterways. He was promoted Assistant Director and later, Deputy Director. On May 20, 2009, he was named the Head of the newly created Design Department. Okenwa is a poet and associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects and Chartered Member, Nigerian Institute of Management. He is blessed with kids.

Kaltungo Muljengo, Head, Procurement Unit

Discipline and commitment to the pursuit of the ideal have always been the watchword of Kaltungo Muljengo. And you can’t exactly blame him: he has known from his teens that if he wanted to make any headway in life, he had to uphold these virtues. Fortunately, they have paid off for him.

Born on May 29, 1963 in Kaltungo, Gombe State, Kaltungo Muljengo enrolled at the Nigeria Military School, Zaria from 1979 to1984 where he obtained his G.C.E O’Level. He proceeded to Bauchi College of Arts & Science, Bauchi, where he obtained his IJMB Certificate in 1986. Muljengo obtained his LLB (Hons) Degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1989, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1990. He also holds a Diploma in French Language obtained from the Universite Nationale Du Benin, Cotonou in 1983.

He began his career shortly after his call to the Bar with G.T Bello & Co Legal Consultants as an Associate Solicitor from 1990-91, and later joined Albarka Chambers in Kaduna as a Senior Counsel where he was  till 1993. Muljengo was appointed Personal Assistant to the Commissioner in charge of Legal Matters & Audit in the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC, in 1993, and later rose to the position of Principal Legal Officer in the Commission in 1995. At the inception of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in 2001, Muljengo was made acting Head, Legal Services between 2001 and 2002. He reverted to the substantive position of Principal Manager, Legal Services in 2003, a position he held till 2006 when he was promoted to the position of Assistant Director in the Directorate. In May 2009, Muljengo was appointed to his present position of Head, Due Process, in the Commission and later re-designated Head, Procurement Unit. His interests span advocacy, writing, travelling and reading. So does his affiliation with several local and international professional bodies.

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