…in the battle to rescue Imo State
By MKPE ABANG
Imo State Governor, Chukwuemeka Ihedioha, has appointed Meekam Mgbenwelu commissioner in his quest to rescue the state from the devastation brought upon it by the immediate past administration of Rochas Okorocha.
Ihedioha’s cabinet is made up of largely technocrats as commissioners in a move described as starting on a sound footing in the job of repositioning Imo State back to winning ways.
Among the commissioners to work in Ihedioha’s ‘Save Imo’ Administration is Mgbenwelu, a former top official of Microsoft Corporation Nigeria, who was named Commissioner for Technology Development.
Meekam, as he is fondly called, a well-known personality in the Information and Communications Technology industry at national, continental and global levels, was appointed Commissioner for Technology Development, a fitting role, in what has aptly been described as putting round pegs in round holes.
Ihedioha must have surprised many when on August 7, 2019, he named Prof. Viola Adaku Onwuliri among the commissioners to serve in his administration.
Prof. Onwuliri, who served as foreign affairs minister as well as minister of state for education, had turned town Okorocha’s offer to serve as commissioner having suffered defeat as deputy governorship candidate to Ikedi Ohakim, who Okorocha beat.
In fact, Ihedioha is applauded for being able to convince Prof. Onwuliri to accept to serve as commissioner for education – the second professor in his administration, the other being Prof. Uche Uwaleke Ihitte Uboma – given her very impressive profile; parading two professors as commissioners is no mean feat on its own.
But, that says a lot about Ihedioha – as a governor with eyes for results.
Meekam Mgbenwelu
Meekam’s appointment is being applauded as visionary given his track records and skill-set as an ICT-focused professional given the current times where technology is at the heart of every facet of public and private life.
In his role as Commissioner for Technology Development, Meekam holds the exalted office and responsibility to assist Governor Ihedioha take Imo State to the heights where government activities and programmes run electronically on e-governance processes.
Meekam must identify, develop and introduce technological programmes, products and services to ease governance in Imo State enabling citizens access government services and enjoy the dividends of democracy. Luckily he is no stranger to challenges such as this.
The new Commissioner for Technology Development for Imo State parades over 25 years senior executive experience criss-crossing the public and private sectors. Some of his more visible engagements have been when working with Microsoft Corporation in Nigeria where he led the Marketing and Intellectual Property Compliance Team. Obviously that would put him squarely interfacing with public sectors and large private corporations.
Such call of duty must have learnt its credence well, for Meekam would go on to serve as a subject matter expert to the Federal Government of Nigeria in the Power Sector Reform Programme under the Prof. Barth Nnaji led Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP), where he headed the team that developed and deployed a Geographical Information System (GIS) Map of the national power assets.
Meekam’s sojourn in the public sector did not stop there. He also served in the Dr. Christopher Kolade-chaired SURE-P; here, Meekam led the organisation’s team on Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Planning and Reporting.
While at SURE-P Meekam automated the Monitoring and Evaluation Systems covering the sectoral areas of Social Safety-Net (Community & Youth Services, Maternal Childcare, Technical & Vocational Education) and Critical Infrastructure (Roads, FERMA and Railways).
He has also gone on to garner extensive work experience internationally including working in several countries in Sub Saharan Africa among them Ghana, Benin Republic, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He has served as a reform expert hired by the European Union (EU) to re-engineer a major revenue agency of the Government of Botswana.
Over time and through all those career paths Meekam has gathered very impressive sets of expertise in Public Sector Policy and ICT industry, thus placing him well as an invaluable building block in the new call to make Imo State great in the administration of former deputy speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Hon. Chukwuemeka Ihedioha.
Meekam knows too well that his many admirers, friends and associates expect him to deliver sterling quality services to the people of Imo State to prove the high ratings associated with his name. After all, his academic background also stands to support the high ratings.
He is an old boy of the popular St. Finbarr’s College, Akoka, Lagos. He went on to study at the University of Greenwich, City University and University of Westminster, in the United Kingdom, receiving Bachelor’s degree (BA Hons) Political Economy, Master of Science degree in Information Management and a Master of Business Administration.
In addition to formal courses of study, the new commissioner who now has ‘Nze’ (the most prestigious Ozo title in Igbo Land) added to his name, has also attended several short courses locally and internationally, including at the Pan African University, Lagos, Nigeria and the Open University, UK. Besides ICT and Public Policy, Meekam’s expertise also spans Strategic Management, Project Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, Human Capital Development and Operations Management.
Ihedioha’s Team of Commissioners
Here is the full list of the commissioners Hon. Emeka Ihedioha appointed to deliver services to Imo State people in his administration:
Ministry of Justice, Ndukwe Nnawuchi; Finance, Prof. Uche Uwaleke Ihitte Uboma; Commerce, Industry & Entrepreneurship, Mr. John. Ekezie Okeahialam; Agriculture & Natural Resources, Chief Emma Nworgu; Health, Dr. Vin Udokwu; Public Utilities, Hon. Chuma Nnaji; Education, Prof. Mrs. Viola Adaku Onwuliri; Works, Engr. Benjamin Ekwueme; Lands, Survey and Physical Planning, Sir. Bon Unachu.
Others are Ministry of Youth & Social Development, Umez- Eronini Okechukwu Unaeze; Environment, Hon. Tony Okere; Information and Orientation, Barr. Emeka Felix Ebiliekwe; Gender and Vulnerable Groups Affairs, Chief Mrs. Nkeiru Ibekwe; Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture, Barr. Chijioke Nzekwe; Technology Development, Mr. Meekam Mgbenwelu; Transport, Engr. Sly Enwerem; Budget & Economic Planning, Mr. Reginald Ihebuzor and Housing, Mr Nicholas Anayo Amaefule.