ADJOGBE SAMUEL ON NDDC BOARD: WHEN EXPERIENCE MEETS COMPETENCE

By Onitsha Shedrack——

 

Engr. Ajenakevwe Samuel Adjogbe’s story is a story of a man whose upbringing is based on strong family values, where hard work and education is seen as the means of getting ahead with a conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

Like President Barrack Obama, he believes that; “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek.” Guided by this principles; Adjogbe in his career  as a key player in the Nigeria oil and gas industry, where he has carved a niche for himself as an experienced and competent team leader who has always been a pace setter providing solutions to intricate and knotty challenges.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to make a difference in delivering the core mandate of accelerating development in the Niger Delta area has manifested in his choice of cerebral specialists to drive the new NDDC board around visible performance indicators in the best interest of the people.

Mr. President, being a man of enormous integrity and high sense of value for clear-headed people with sound pedigree towards excellent disposition in service delivery, is not looking for local, ethnic champions or irredentists but men of innocuous propensity for adding value to governance. Ever since the sage took over the mantle of leadership of our great nation, there has been visible change in consideration of persons to help him drive his vision of good governance. His latest catch in his quest to bring the best hands on board the ship of state is Engr Samuel Adjogbe, who has been nominated by Mr President for the office of Executive Director, Projects on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission.

To say the choice of Samuel Adjogbe, a renowned key player in the nation’s oil industry for many years, is a perfect choice is to say the obvious. Engr. Ajenakevwe Samuel Adjogbe is a registered engineer and a corporate member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

He holds Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri in 1998 and 2008 respectively. He is currently undergoing a PhD degree program at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri in Mechanical Systems Design. He is a proud product of the prestigious Government College, Ughelli between 1985 & 1991 and Shell Intensive Training Program (SITP), Warri between 2002 & 2003.

Egnr Adjogbe has worked in various capacities as a designer, construction engineer, project engineer, lead project engineer and pipeline integrity engineer both as a consultant and a client. He has worked with International Oil Companies like Texaco Overseas, Nigeria Petroleum Unlimited and Chevron Nigeria Limited, where he was involved in the management of Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) of small, medium and major capital projects at different phases, both in onshore and offshore locations. Prior to joining Chevron Nigeria Limited, Adjogbe worked as a General Manager – Projects to an Oil & Gas Services Company in Warri.

He has attended and made project management related presentations at both international and local conferences. Notable presentations were on the Community Involvement in Delivering of Industry Leading Projects – Houston, Texas and Succeeding with Marginal Contractors in Niger Delta Region – Lekki, Lagos. He was an Instructor in the Project Execution Fundamentals and Empowerment for Job Creation, amongst others, at the Delta State University, Oleh Campus, organized by the Facilities Engineering Human Capital Development Initiative (FUHCADI) of Chevron Nigeria Limited.

He’s been driven by the basic values that make a nation great, believing that with an excellent admixture of team spirit and focus leadership, Nigerians can prospers together, irrespective of creed, ethnic, religious and political linage. He teaches that hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded, and when everyone; from Delta-Sokoto does their fair share and plays by the same rules, Nigeria will indeed become the envy in the committee of nations. And his life has been that of legacy of service, as a grassroots organizer he inspired many youths to discover their potentials, and to become change agents in enthroning real and lasting change in their socioeconomic sphere. At an early stage in this life he embracing the symbolic potency of leadership and mentorship, he was not just a student at the Government College Ughelli but a totem of progress and a beacon of hope, to his class mates and hall of residence.

He has attended several training programs in project and construction management. He is a renowned tactful negotiator, cost management leader, risk manager and grassroot representation crusader. Until this appointment as Executive Director, Projects in the Niger Delta Development Commission (EDP-NDDC), he was in the employment of Chevron Nigeria Limited, while also actively participating in the political activities of his people. He ran to represent his people in the Delta State House of Assembly in 2014, though he could not make it.

Sam Adjogbe’s pedigree as a calm and emerging political force is a study in unassuming posture and calculated contribution to political progress of his Delta people. He has been fighting from the sidelines, investing strategically in the politics of his people. This appointment therefore has come as a thing of great delight to his people and the APC family in Delta State who see in him, the embodiment of political sagacity and adroit mixture of corporate and political dexterity. Having traversed the corporate world particularly the oil industry with much success, it is now time for him to deploy his enormous experience and expertise to enhancing the execution of projects in the NDDC board. His Midas touch in tackling the numerous problems of the Niger Delta people would be obvious as soon as he is cleared to carry out this onerous task on behalf of the Niger Delta people. This is one appointment that would surely give President Buhari a great deal of accolades within the shortest possible time. But more intriguing than what Adjogbe has already accomplished is the promise he represents.

Engr. Adjogbe, Ajenakevwe Samuel is happily married to Mrs Juliet Adjogbe and they are blessed with four children.

Mr Onitsha Shedrack,

A Journalist and blogger,

 Writes from Ughelli,

Delta state,

Contact on Email: [email protected]