Victor Oyofo, Ebele Okeke: Where are they now?

 Once upon a time, they were very powerful in the various positions they occupied in the government, but many years after, there is no more news about them. ELEOJO IDACHABA in this piece asks where they are now.

Victor Oyofo

A former lawmaker, Senator Victor Oyofo once represented the people of Edo North Senatorial District in the Senate between 1999 and 2007 for two terms, but failed in his bid to return the third time. During his second tenure, he was appointed as the chief whip. Also, while in the Senate, he was among the lawmakers with loud voices during plenary. Perhaps, that accounted for the fact that he was prominent in many committees of the Senate like petroleum, solid minerals, environment, police affairs, Niger Delta, among others. Oyofo as a lawmaker never hid his disdain for state creation as he noted that the proliferation of states in the country would bring further financial burden on the government that is battling under a lean purse.

He was of the belief that, “In addressing the internal architecture of the federation, we must do what is obvious. This means consolidating our gains and formalising them into laws. It is clear that states have to be viable, but a situation where states are created to rely on the revenue from the federal government is not a viable option and when deeply considered, it’s a sin.”

In what appears as a move against him in the upper chamber, he lost his position as chief whip and, therefore, ceased to be one of the principal officers. Reflecting on the leadership position in the country after he failed to return for the third time, he said in what he titled: ‘Letter to Nigerians’ that, “Out of love, I am prompted to write this to my fellow citizens and those who find themselves in leadership positions everywhere whether in government, religious or in any human organisation where there are fiduciary and financial responsibilities to the populace. Often, one hears statements like; ‘it is God who gives powers. Since all powers belong to God,’ this statement is true, but I must insert that the ‘devolved power’ is to be used for the good of everyone. Any misuse brings terrible consequences on the abusers and all their accomplices. Thus, every leader must also bear the main responsibility for that which he mismanages due to his wrong attitude.”

Since 2007, when this former senator and strong member of the Grail Movement Nigeria left the Senate, nothing has been heard of him again as he has not made any attempt to return to any public office or national reckoning.

Ebele Okeke

Engineer Ebele Okeke was the head of service of the federation who was in office from July 2007 to July 2008 under the late President Musa Yar’Adua. She is the first female qualified civil engineer and the first to occupy the position of head of service. Okeke is someone with an impressive resume that can be very intimidating, having attended some of the best institutions of higher learning both within and outside the country before she joined the civil service in 1978 as an engineer with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources. Okeke is one woman who has contributed immensely to the development of the civil engineering profession in Nigeria and it is on record that she was the founder of the Association of Professional Women Engineers in Nigeria. On cloaking her mandatory retirement age from the civil service in 2008, she retired leaving behind a stable civil service which she handed over to Ammal People. Just before she left office, she was inducted into the prestigious Nigerian Women Hall of Fame for her contributions to the pride of womanhood.

Since then, not much has been heard about her. It was however found out that she decided to maintain a low profile on account of age.

 Fidelis Okoro

Senator Fidelis Okoro was a two-time lawmaker that represented Enugu North in the Senate between 1999 and 2007; first on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) before he crossed over to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and became an ally of a former Enugu state governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, through whom he was re-elected into the Senate in 2003, where he was until 2007. When he took his seat in the upper House, he became a member of many committees like Senate services, industries, agriculture and Niger Delta. Beside these, he was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs.

In the days that former chairman of Police Pension Scheme, Mr. Kenny Martins scandal was all over the media space, Senator Okoro was said to be one of those whose behind-the-scenes maneuvers led to whatever has become of the case today.

Since then he seems to have avoided public space as he is neither seen nor heard of these days.