The Immediate past Chief of Staff to the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, Mr. Okey Ahiwe recently emerged the new Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the March 11, 2023 poll.
His emergence followed the sudden death of Professor Uche Ikonne, the initial PDP standard bearer in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Grow your business with us
Ahiwe was a strong force in the campaign council for the Governorship elections in Abia State and has also been part of the National sub-committees of PDP for the conduct of party primaries in Cross River and Oyo states.
In April 2022, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff to the governor of Abia State and was also a former member of the Abia State Security Trust Fund. He is an oil mogul and one of those professionals in politics Nigeria can boast of. Okey Ahiwe owns Ambrokah Investments Ltd and Powertrim Nigeria Limited, which is in the Maritime sub-sector of the Oil & gas industry supporting major multinational oil firms. He is therefore a candidate with strong private sector background who will bring his wealth of experience to drive the industrial and economic development of Abia State, a state that is known for its commercial and industrial prowess with Aba as the epicenter of its industrial developmental expectations.
Having worked so closely with the incumbent governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, his victory at the polls would mean that he would hit the ground running from day one since he had been part of the outgoing administration. His victory will also be a vote for continuity in Abia State as he is expected to continue where Dr Ikpeazu stopped especially in the completion of the laudable programmes and projects of the outgoing administration so that Abia will be saved from the negative consequences of abandoned projects which the state cannot afford.
The former Chief of Staff has the qualities of great leaders which had been lacking in governance of states in the country since 1999. He is a listening leader. Willingness to listen is one of the attributes of successful people. Other attributes of leadership that those who have worked closely with him said he has in abundance include; Perseverance; Honesty; Selflessness; Decisiveness; Trust and Integrity.
Ahiwe has also shown from the start that he is a man who has eyes for picking the right people to work with to move Abia State forward. This he demonstrated in his choice of running mate.
The whole state was agog with excitement when he unveiled his running mate, Dr Chidiebube Jasper Uche. The Isuochi born politician and technocrat had shown early in life that he was prepared for public service when he became the Labour Prefect of the Umuaku Secondary School, Isuochi, and was actively involved in Debating, Drama, and Press Clubs. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) – Second Class Honours Upper Division in Government & Public Administration at Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU). He was also elected as the President of the Students Union Government of ABSU.
While on campus, he was also an active member of Christ Ambassadors Students Outreach (CASOR) and Federation of Isuochi Students (FIS). He also received commendations from NYSC for his community development service (CDS) book project entitled: “Understanding the Development Potentials of Kogi State.”
His career started at the National Assembly, Abuja, as a Legislative Assistant to Late Senator Uche Chukwumerije, where he was saddled with the responsibility of following-up constituency projects, drafting of the Senator’s letters, compilation of the Senator’s strides and achievements, and generation of legislative ideas. He later resigned to pursue his Master’s degree at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The effort earned him M.Sc. in Political Science with specialization in Political Economy. He also enrolled and earned a doctorate (PhD) in Political Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The academic pursuits did not deter his political forays. In 2007, he was appointed a Special Adviser on Sports by former Governor T.A. Orji. He was part of the State Government’s delegation that accompanied Enyimba Football Club during CAF Champions League engagements across Africa. After a cabinet shake-up, he was re-appointed Senior Special Assistant on Students Affairs. He interfaced between the State Government and the students leaders in the four state-owned institutions: Abia State University Uturu; Abia State Polytechnic, Aba; Abia State College of Education (Technical) Arochukwu and School of Health Technology, Aba. He was also a Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties with the task of strategic media interventions.
In 2010, he was appointed the T.C. Chairman of Umunneochi LGA. He was again re-appointed the T.C. Chairman of Umunneochi in 2014 and served out in February 2016. In March 2016, he joined Abia State University, Uturu, as a lecturer in Political Science. By May 2017, he moved to the prestigious Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In July 2021, he resumed on a parallel appointment as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
As a local government chairman, he built a Library & ICT Centre at Council Headquarters, renovated public schools, attracted economic empowerment grants for youths and women, and successfully provided leadership during the 2015 general elections. He pioneered street naming in the urban axis of the LGA. In addition, his respect and due recognition to the Umunneochi Founding Fathers Forum earned him a place in their hearts and stood him out among successive Chairmen of the Council.
With his contacts and goodwill, his community benefited from government-funded electricity and water projects. He has also assisted numerous persons to secure university admissions. As a public intellectual, he has consulted for CLEEN Foundation, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Frederick Ebert Stiftung (FES). He has published in local and international peer-reviewed journals, and presented papers at learned conferences. He facilitated a number of youth mentorship programmes in his home town and beyond. He is the author of the book titled:
“Footprints of Excellence: 80 Leadership Lessons from Global Titans,” with a foreword written by a distinguished Nigerian, Professor Jerry Gana.
Dr. Uche is a member, Nigeria Political Science Association (NPSA) and a Fellow, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos. He is happily married with children.
Going by his pedigree he would bring the needed versatility, resourcefulness, ingenuity and youthful agility to complement the gubernatorial candidate Sir Okechukwu Ambrose Ahaiwe in moving God’s Own State forward when they are elected governor and deputy governor respectively on March 11, 2023, gubernatorial election in Abia State.