A federal high court sitting in Abuja has ruled that Okezie Ikpeazu, the Abia State governor, was not qualified to hold the office and also ordered the Chief Judge of the state to swear in Uche Ogah, his opponent in the December 2014 guber election.
At the Federal High Court sitting today in Abuja, Justice Okon Abang, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cede the certificate of return to the opponent of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state as he was never qualified to run for the party primaries in the People's Democratic party (PDP) as a guber candidate.
The judge also ordered the Chief Judge of the state to swear in, Uche Ogah, his opponent in the December 2014 gubernatorial election in state as the substantive governor of Abia state. The judge ruled that on the account of fake tax returns during the primaries, and that Dr. Ikpeazu was never qualified to run in the primaries.
Below is a brief profile of Uche Ogah - the probable governor of Abia state.
Uchechukwu S. Ogah (born 22 December 1969) is a Nigerian oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. Ogah is the President of Master Energy Group, a conglomerate with over 15 subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries. Ogah holds the Nigerian national honour, the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
Early life and Education
Ogah was born to Chief Wilson and Ezinne Pauline Ogah of Onuaku Uturu, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.
Ogah attended Ishiagu High School, after which he worked at West African Examination Council (WAEC) from 1986–89, before he proceeded to the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu State where he obtained Upper Credit at Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in 1992 and Distinction at the Higher National Diploma (HND) Level in 1995 in Accounting.
He also attended University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in 2005. He also has a Bachelor of Science degree (Banking and Finance) from Ogun State University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from University of Lagos.
He obtained his ACA in 2007. He is a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); Fellow, Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria; Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Shipping; Fellow, Employment & Career and member, Chartered Institute of Bankers.
Career
Ogah began his career as a banker with a year of National Youth Service year at NAL Bank Plc. Thereafter, he took up full employment at All States Trust Bank where he worked for around two years before joining Zenith Bank in 1997. At Zenith Bank, he set a record of growing a new branch from zero balance sheets to over N9 billion and rose to the position of an Assistant General Manager (AGM) in Zenith Bank. He resigned in 2007 to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.
Business Concern
As he left Zenith bank, Ogah founded Master Energy Group. Ogah is currently the President of Master Energy Group – a conglomerate with workforce of about 42,000 with interests in oil & gas, banking, insurance, aviation, shipping, dredging, logistics, construction, travel services, and power.
Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited has grown into a conglomerate with investments worth tens of billions of naira. At a time when investors were exiting the Niger Delta because its security challenges, Masters Energy City invested billions of naira in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. As single investment, a 158,000 tonne petroleum products storage facility provided direct employment to over 600 citizens of the Niger Delta region, and over 4,000 ancillary positions.
In December 2011, the Executive Governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore A. Orji, laid the foundation stone of Masters Energy Industrial City in Isikwuato. This industrial complex is expected to grow the economy of Abia State by attracting investment from across Africa.
Awards and Recognition
In 2014, Ogah was awarded, a national award - the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the Federal government of Nigeria