From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia State Governor-Elect Dr Alex Otti has drawn a list of prominent Nigerians, including professionals, technocrats and politicians as members of his Transition Council, in readiness for his inauguration on May 29.
According to a statement from Otti’s camp, the Transition Council will help to articulate a policy document that would forge a direction and developmental agenda for Abia, in line with the Governor-elect’s vision for the state.
The Council, the statement added, will be chaired by Victor Onyenkpa, Partner and COO, KPMG, and co-chaired by Ifueko Omogui Okauru, former Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Also on the list is Arunma Oteh, former Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); former Treasurer and Vice President of the World Bank and currently a Director at FSD Africa, an international development agency with a focus on financial markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
Other members of the council are Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, a Nigerian-born inventor who was said to have helped Apple design a semiconductor for the iPhone; Mr Uche Orji, the immediate past CEO of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Victor Okoronkwo, GMD of Aiteo Oil and Gas; Mr Frank Nneji, founder of ABC Transport Company; and Ide John Udeagbala, an Aba-based business mogul and President of NACCIMA.
The Council is to be inaugurated on Friday, April 14, by the Governor-Elect in Aba.
According to Otti’s media adviser Ferdinand Ekeoma, the choice of Aba for the inauguration of the Council is strategic as the city will be the centrepiece of the incoming Otti government’s economic and infrastructural development plan.