Godwin Obaseki

This article is about Nigerian politician (born 1957). For Nigerian meteorologist (1933-2007), see Godwin Obasi.

Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki (born 1 July 1957) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who is currently the Governor of Edo State. He was first elected governor under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the year 2016 where He defeated Mr. Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the PDP and was sworned in as governor on 12 November 2016.^[1][2][3][4] Before becoming governor, he served as chairman of the Edo State Economic and Strategy Team inaugurated by former Governor Adams Oshiomole in March 2009.^[5]

Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki
Obaseki in 2018
10th Governor of Edo State
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 November 2016
Deputy	Philip Shaibu
Preceded by	Adams Oshiomhole
Personal details
Born	Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki (1957-07-01) 1 July 1957 (age 66)^[1] Benin city, Edo State State, Nigeria
Nationality	Nigerian
Political party	People's Democratic Party
Spouse	Betsy Bene Obaseki
Parents	Roland Obaseki Stella Osarhiere Igbinigie
Alma mater	Eghosa Grammar School, Benin City University of Ibadan Columbia University Pace University
Website	godwinobaseki.com

Obaseki holds post graduate degrees in both Finance and International Business,^[6] and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, Nigeria.^[7]

Obaseki served as an executive board member of several private companies including Afrinvest.^[6][8][9] He is the recipient of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) award for best performing Governor of the year in October 2019.[1]

Early life and education

Obaseki was born in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, Obaseki is the third child of Late Pa Roland Obaseki and Gbinigie of Owina Street, Ogbelaka Quarters, Benin City. He attended St. Matthew's Primary School for his primary school education and proceeded to Eghosa Grammar School, in Benin City, for secondary education.^[10]

Higher education

Obaseki, thereafter proceeded to the University of Ibadan where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Classics.^[11] For his mandatory one year National Youth Service, he served in Jos, Plateau State. He later left Nigeria for the United States to attend Columbia University and Pace University in New York, where he obtained an MBA in Finance and International Business.^[12]

Obaseki is the founding secretary, (1992), of a US-based Africa Chamber of Commerce. He was also a Director of Junior Achievement of Nigeria – the local affiliate of international Non Profit Organisation (NGO).^[12]

Career

Investment banking career

Obaseki began his career as a stockbroker in 1983 with Capital Trust Brokers Limited, Lagos. He later transferred his services to the International Merchant Bank. He moved to AVC Funds Limited, Lagos, in 1988, where he served as a Project Manager. He moved back to New York and worked as a Principal of Equatorial Finance Company, a Financial Advisory firm. He focused on Africa and provided Structured Trade Finance for African-related transactions.^[13][10][12]

Afrinvest

In 1995, Godwin Obaseki founded Afrinvest West Africa Limited (formerly Securities Transactions & Trust Company Limited (SecTrust), which has grown to become one of the most reputable investment banking and management firms in Nigeria.^[14]

Obaseki later stepped down from his position as chairman of the board of directors of Afrinvest in September 2016, to contest the gubernatorial election in Edo State.^[15][2]

Politics and public policy

In an article by Vanguard daily, he was tagged the "Wake and See Governor."^[16][17] Pundits say this is because he prefers working and delivering infrastructural projects without prior fanfare or needless rhetoric.^[18]

Before becoming the Edo State Governor, Obaseki served as the Chairman of the Economic and Strategy Team (EST).^[5] In that capacity, he pioneered a number of policy reforms that saw the state restructure its public finance, secure funding for infrastructure and improve the business environment to attract investment in power, agriculture and other critical sectors. Obaseki was also instrumental in attracting the Edo-Azura power project, with support from World Bank to the state.

Aside these, some of his other reforms include:^[19]

• injecting a culture of regular retreats as a platform for engagement and consensus building in planning, executing and evaluating state development initiatives and their outcomes
• N25 Billion Infrastructure Development Bond from the Nigerian Capital Market in 2010
• inspiring Sector-based Economic Summits and Policy Dialogue Series

For seven years in the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, his predecessor, he served as voluntary Chairman of the Edo State Economic and Strategy Team as well as Chairman of Tax Assessment Review Committee for Edo State Internal Revenue Service (TARC) and the Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), respectively.^[13]

He was Secretary of the Committee on the Implementation of the Law, Establishing the present Edo University, Iyamho, and member of the Committee on Contributory Pension Scheme and Edo SEEFOR/DPO Steering Committee, respectively.

Before serving at the sub-national level, Obaseki served in the Presidential Committee on the Reform of the Nigerian Pension System,^[13] which facilitated the introduction of the contributory pension scheme and other novel pension reforms.

He also served in the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission Committee on the Re-activation of the Nigerian Bond Market and the review of the Investment and Securities Act.^[20] Between 2006 and 2009, he served as a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Council. He is a Trustee of the Dr Jackson Owen Obaseki Foundation, a family-owned Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).

He publicly stated in October 2019 that he will be running for a second term in the State's Gubernatorial election coming up in 2020 stating that his re-election is non-negotiable.

He was controversially disqualified from contesting in the APC primary elections by the screening committee due to his disagreements with the National chairman of the party and his predecessor in office comrade Adams Oshiomhole.^[21][22]

Policies, projects and initiatives

Since assuming duty as the Executive Governor of Edo State on 12 November 2016,^[23] Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki has enacted projects with the aim of making the state an investment hub. Such projects, includes:

• • The Benin River Port Project (Gelegele Seaport)^[24]
  • The Benin Industrial Park^[25][26]
  • Modular Refinery Project^[27]
  • Technology hubs^[28]
  • Edojobs
  • Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP) [2]
  • Ossiomo Power Project [3]
  • Edo Tech Park [4]

Asides his infrastructural projects, he has also enacted a number of social development initiatives. The state government has proposed to build about 200 Primary Healthcare Centres. Obaseki's focus in the health sector is to develop a viable primary healthcare system to provide affordable and accessible health care services to people in the state. He is also pioneering a state-backed Health insurance scheme to provide a robust sector that will attract private investors.^[29]

In education, Obaseki launched the Edo Basic Education Transformation (Edo BEST)^[30] programme, an initiative to train and equip public school teachers with top-of-the-range skills and expertise for deploying Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in classrooms to improve learning outcomes. There is also a strong emphasis on technical education, which led to the revamping of the Government Science and Technical College (formerly Benin Technical College) to train workforce in the state.

He has also vigorously pushed Edo state as a viable investment destination. In January 2018, his government established the Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO)^[31][32][33] to facilitate investments and stakeholders engagements so as to improve the business environment in the state.

He has also contributed to the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration.^[34]

He also embarked on a massive reconstruction of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to host the 2020 National Sports Festival.

The governor attracted $500m worth of investment into the state through the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP), a novel idea that is poised to attract oil palm plantations to the state, as over 100,000 hectares of arable land are under cultivation in the programme. Some of the companies investing in oil palm development are Dufil (makers of Indomie Noodles), Fayus, Nosak, Saro Group of Companies, among others.

Politics

On 29 September 2016, Obaseki was elected as the Governor of Edo State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress.^[35] During the 2020 Edo Gubernatorial Election, Obaseki sought for re-election under the APC but was controversially disqualified by the party's Primary Election Screening Committee from contesting the primary elections, citing missing letters on the governor's National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate and what other observers described as spurious excuses surrounding the governor's university admission.^[36] The governor had had a running battle with his predecessor, Comrade Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the APC, who headed the party's National Working Committee (NWC) at the time, which constituted the screening committee. Political analysts argue that the former governor acted out a script, with the ultimate aim of denying the governor a second-term ticket under the APC. Comrade Oshiomhole was eventually sacked as National Chairman of the APC.^[37]

The governor was in possession of his West African Examination Council High School Certificate, which the committee said was absent from the governor's credentials, while the NYSC reissued a corrected version of the governor's NYSC discharge certificate, while apologizing for being responsible for the initial error. The Federal High Court in Abuja eventually struck out a certificate forgery case instituted against the governor^[38] by the All Progressives Congress (APC), his former political party. He said the ruling was victory for truth, and victory rule of law. He said the case against him was a most needless attempt by desperate individuals trying to undo the will of the people through the backdoor.^[39]

On 16 June 2020, Obaseki resigned his membership from the All Progressives Congress.^[40] On 19 June 2020, Obaseki decamped to the People's Democratic Party and declared his intentions to seek re-election on the platform.^[41] PDP described him as a big catch.^[42] On 20 September 2020, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Obaseki the winner of the Edo State gubernatorial election, He won against his major opponent from the All Progressives Congress Osagie Ize Iyamu with a total number of 307,955 votes.

Controversy

An  alleged  certificate forgery suit was instituted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Gov. Obaseki.^[43]  According to the Premium times publication on 9 January 2021, the Federal High Court in Abuja  dismissed the certificate forgery suit instituted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.^[44]

Personal life

Obaseki is married to Betsy Bene Obaseki, a financial expert. She holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos, and an alumna of the Kellog's School of Business Executive Management Programme, USA.^[13] He is also an avid golfer.

See also

• List of governors of Edo State

References

1. "About". Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, Governor Edo State. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
2. "INEC Declares Godwin Obaseki Winner Of Edo Governorship Election • Channels Television". 29 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016 – via www.channelstv.com.
3. Tony (12 November 2016). "Obaseki promises well-being of Edo people - Vanguard News". Vanguardngr.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
4. "Mr Godwin Obaseki Archives". The Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
5. Enogholase, Gabriel (19 March 2009). "Nigeria: Oshiomhole Inaugurates Economic Team". Retrieved 29 September 2016 – via AllAfrica.
6. "Godwin Obaseki: Executive Profile & Biography". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
7. "Dorman Long Engineering".
8. "Hayford Alile Foundation".
9. "Board of Directors".
10. "You are being redirected..." independent.ng. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
11. "Edo APC 2016 Primaries: Godwin Obaseki emerges party's flag-bearer | Premium Times Nigeria". 19 June 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
12. "The man Godwin Obaseki, Edo governor elect - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
13. Caleb, Abu (28 September 2016). "Godwin Obaseki Biography !! APC". Daily Times Nigeria. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
14. "Afrinvest boosts management team with key appointments | Afrinvest West Africa". www.afrinvest.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
15. "Breaking: APC's Godwin Obaseki wins Edo governorship election". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
16. "Edo's 'Wake and See' Governor Marks Birthday Today - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
17. Environment and You TV Show (4 October 2017), The wake and see Governor of Edo State, retrieved 22 May 2018
18. "The Obaseki Administration: Wake and See what? - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
19. "Edo's Giant Leap into the League of Emerging Industrialised States". thisdaylive.com. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
20. "Afrinvest brokers over seven major deals in 20 years". Retrieved 22 May 2018.
21. "Edo 2020: Why APC disqualified Obaseki". 12 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
22. "APC screening unjust, I'll not appeal, says Obaseki". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
23. "Oshiomhole Formally Hands over to Obaseki". thisdaylive.com. 12 November 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
24. "Gelegele Seaport: China Harbour intensifies work, concludes preliminary phase - Voice of Nigeria". Voice of Nigeria. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
25. "Benin Industrial Park: Preliminary construction throws up jobs, businesses – Obaseki Aide". BusinessDay. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
26. "Benin Industrial Park: Edo meets host communities". The Nation Nigeria. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
27. "Edo, Chinese firms sign 5,500bpd modular refinery deal". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
28. "Youth devt: Obaseki converts ICE to tech-innovation hub". newtelegraphonline.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
29. "Edo Govt. to remodel 200 primary health centres - Premium Times Nigeria". Premium Times Nigeria. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
30. "Edo flags off BEST programme". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
31. "NIPC to commence fresh phase of certification in Edo, Delta, Akwa-Ibom". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
32. "EDO State Sets to Establish a State Investment Promotion Agency". Retrieved 2 June 2020.
33. "Edo, German govt partners to support MSMEs grow local economy". Retrieved 2 June 2020.
34. "We Need Help To Reintegrate Victims Of Human Trafficking – Obaseki". Africa Independent Television. 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
35. "APC's Godwin Obaseki wins Edo governorship election". Punch Newspapers. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
36. "Edo Election: APC disqualifies Obaseki". 12 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
37. "Edo: APC's NWC has final say on aspirants' credentials — National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole". Vanguard News. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
38. "Edo 2020: Court strikes out certificate forgery suit against Obaseki". 29 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
39. "Obaseki triumphs, hails Court verdict". 9 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
40. "Breaking: Obaseki dumps APC over Edo crisis". The Nation Nigeria. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
41. "Edo 2020: Governor Obaseki formally joins PDP". www.vanguardngr.com. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
42. "EDO 2020: Obaseki is a big catch – PDP". Vanguard News. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
43. "UPDATED: Alleged Certificate Forgery: Court dismisses APC's suit against Obaseki". 9 January 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
44. "Forgery Case: I've never set eyes on Obaseki's original certificate, don tells Court -". Vanguard News. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

External links

• Government website