Ngozi Okolie: Delta’s Jinx-breaking New Federal Lawmaker

Delta and Labour Party’s House of Representatives member-elect, Hon Ngozi Chukwuweka Okolie, clears the air on a number of rumours that have tended to becloud his personality and political adventure in mystery of sorts. Omon-Julius Onabu writes on the chat the jinx-breaking Reps-elect had with of journalists in Asaba, to debunk the wild allegations

On February 25, 2023 remarkable and unprecedented results were recorded in the Presidential and National Assembly elections held across Delta State. Aside the shocking defeat suffered by some personalities considered as political gladiators and heavyweights in their respective domains or primary constituencies, the defeat of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Ndudi Godwin Elumelu, was a frontpage story.

Elected at the aforementioned election into the House of Representatives to represent Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State (Hon Elumelu’s constituency) is a man renowned for being distinctly humble, unassuming, accessible and patient but dogged fighter, Hon Ngozi Okolie, who hails from Oshimili South Local Government Area, one of the four council areas that constitute Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in Delta State. The others are Aniocha North Local Government Area, Aniocha South Local Government Area and Oshimili North Local Government Area.

THISDAY checks showed that, until the recent emergence of Okolie of the Labour Party, the federal constituency has been represented only by politicians who hail from the Aniocha part. Past Reps of the constituency include Delta North Senator-elect, Prince Ned Nwoko (Aniocha North), Hon Joan Onyemaechi Mrakpor (Aniocha South) and the incumbent, Hon Ndudi Elumelu (Aniocha North). Thus, Ngozi Okolie (Oshimili South) has broken the seeming jinx that nobody from the Oshimili axis ever wins election to represent Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency.

Therefore, Okolie asked if Oshimili people, whether from the South or North local government areas “are forbidden from contesting election into the Federal House of Representatives in a constituency made up of four local government areas where Aniocha South and North have been on the saddle since 1999 the country returned to democratic rule. That is, Aniocha has been occupying the position for 24 years! So, I see no reason why some people should be grumbling because someone from Oshimili won the seat.”

Okolie recalled that Ndudi Elumelu contested alongside his older brother, Chief Peter Elumelu, and that “when Ndudi Elumelu won, heaven did not fall. I wonder why my own victory at the polls is giving some other persons sleepless night.”

Okolie, who was the state’s Direct Labour Agency (DLA) Director-General, and later appointed a commissioner of the Agency – being the only commissioner to have been appointed to the DLA till date – said that “God created leadership through people because they are the ones who vote-in such leaders.”

While reminiscing on his performance at the Agency as a commissioner, Okolie revealed that he used to “organise youths together and create them into cluster groups, and give out contracts to them. Some of them today, stop me on the road to remind me of the good things they made from the contracts, like paying their rents and being able to attend to other needs. That time we used to invite applications from communities who were being threatened by bad roads, and used to grade such roads and patch-up some already peeling off.”

Is the Reps-elect out of the heart of the Delta State Capital (Asaba) aware that the rumour mill has been awash with several tales about him since his 25th February electoral victory? Yes, he heard some really wild insinuations and allegations from some members of the public and the social media. Talk about the secondary school he attended; his alleged inability to pay for his expression of interest form; his being a novice at politics, etcetera.

On insinuations that he was opportunistic, and that a certain politician from another party had purchased the Expression of Interest Form for him to enter the contest, Okolie described those claims as laughable, baseless and mischievous. He said that though he does not own a commercial bank nor have a brother who owns one to have money to throw around, he has always carried his own cross and personally footed the bills since he started running for elections since 2003. Specifically, he said that he always contested and gone for elections including under the UNDP in 2003, and later under the canopy of the PDP, running for Local Government Council Chairmanship in 2008, “all of which I personally financed.”

He recalled that in the election that would have ushered him in as the Chairman of Oshimili South LG, when Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan was the Governor of Delta State, Okolie was asked by the Governor to step down for Izuka Okolo, who was brought in by Dr (Mrs) Mariam Alli, a.k.a. ‘Enyi Kpankpado’ from Oshimili South Local Government but married to one-time National Chairman of PDP, Dr Ahmadu Alli.

While stressing that he has the competence to represent his people, his primary motivation, and would be the last to allow any manner of intimidation weigh him down. “The passion to serve my people has always been there in me; but because of the respect I have for Mrs Alli, I stepped aside”, Okolie noted.

The House of Representatives-elect further noted that despite the proximity of the secondary school he attended to the residences of persons alleging that he did not attend the school he claimed to have attended, they (his accusers) have apparently refused to go there to verify the authenticity of his claims. “You are very free to verify any allegation against me from my St Patrick’s College, which is located here in Asaba”, he said.

According to Okolie, anybody interested in digging into his academic profile should go to the prestigious St Patrick’s College Asaba, where he read and completed his secondary school education in the late 1970s and early 80’s, before heading to CKC Onitsha where he did only one year in his Higher School Certificate (HSC), before leaving for Miami, United States of America (USA) for further studies. At the St Thomas Catholic University, Miami, USA, Okolie trained in Professional Studies, a course he also bagged his Master’s degree in 2011.

On why he joined LP, and the speculation that he bought voters with money on the day of the Presidential/National Assembly election, Okolie said that he actually weighed the advantages accruable in joining the party. He engaged in extensive consultations with people that matter in Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency, “including political leaders from PDP, APC and other parties, religious groups, the Obi-dient group, the Asagba of Asaba (HRM Obi Prof Chike Edozien) and several other traditional rulers”, all of who gave their blessing and asked him to forge ahead with his ambition, he revealed.

Okolie attributed his resounding victory in the election to “God’s grace, the respect people have for Mr Peter Obi, the LP presidential flag-bearer.”

He observed that anyone who has had cause to be with Obi will know that he is a simple man by nature. “With all his titles, he chose to be addressed simply as Mr Peter Obi. He is not crazy for titles and flamboyant lifestyle. That is why I see him as my role model.

Nonetheless, Okolie said that he was often humbled by the level of public appreciation of his commitment to humanity and regards for his modest achievements in different areas. Recalling the recognition of the good works he did when he served as a commissioner in the state, he said that the Ovie of Ughelli, HRM Oharisi conferred on him the Chieftaincy title of ‘Omiragwa Vogho Ovie of Ughelli Kingdom’ on March 8, 2011.

“I’m a title holder in Asaba and also Olorugun (chief) in Ughelli even though I now like to be addressed simply as ‘Mr Ngozi Okolie’ despite my respect for such titles.

Okolie, who hails from Umuaji Quarters of Asaba, is a man with many awards. He has awards such as Award of Excellence from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Ezinna Ekpele Amaka from Zappa Catholic Church, Asaba; The father of four also is the recipient of the ‘Dan Madami’ of Arewa Community, Asaba as well as the National Trumpet Golden Excellence Award.

Okolie’s advice to Nigerian politicians? The House of Representatives-elect said that “they (politicians) should always allow the electorate (voters) to vote for credibility and play down on primordial, ethnic and clannish considerations”. He also advised defeated candidates to accept defeat in good faith especially if such election in which they were defeated was free and fair.