Anambra
State is one of the leading states in Nigeria in the political and
economy sectors. There is no way the political and economic history of
Nigeria will be written without reckoning with the contributions of
indigenes of Anambra State, who contributed immensely to the development
of the Nigerian economy and polity.
Among
the indigenes of Anambra State, one man who has distinguished himself
in different sectors is Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, the Chief Executive
Officer and Managing Director, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited,
who hailed from Umuanuka village in Otolo town of Nnewi, the highly
industrialised and commercialized city of Anambra State.
Ubah, an oil and gas magnet has proved to the world that he is a successful businessman,
politician,
philanthropist, sports ambassador and respected community leader. He
has contributed immensely to the progress and development of Anambra
State more than many of those parading themselves as leaders in the
Light of the Nation State.
Looking
at Ubah’s track records and antecedents in politics, business, sports
and other spheres of life, Ubah, who clocked 45 in September 3, has
proved beyond reasonable doubt by God’s grace that he is a diligent and
committed man, who can be trusted and rely on in private and public
sectors.
Ubah,
who is majorly into oil and gas, farming and importation business, has
touched many lives Nigeria and in especially in Anambra State by giving
hope to many people through selfless service, direct employment and
empowerment programmes. Today, there are thousands of Anambra indigenes
benefiting directly or indirectly from Ubah’s several companies and
infrastructures within and outside Anambra State.
Ubah
influenced the locating of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) mega filling stations at Onitsha and Nnewi, and he also supplies
these stations to avoid fuel scarcity in the state. Aside the NNPC mega
filling stations, Ubah has over 20 filling stations in Anambra State
either as Capital Oil or under other people’s platform. In Nnnewi Local
Government Area, where he hails from, he has six filling stations, which
make him the highest filling station owner in the local government
area. The oil and gas magnate also use the filling stations as a means
of sustaining Anambra State economy and to make sure that fuel is not
scarce in the State.
Ubah,
the Proprietor of FC Ifeanyi Ubah, as part of his contribution to the
sport sector and youth empowerment is presently putting up a $400million
Games Village in Anambra State, where future footballers will be
groomed. There is doubt that Anambra State through the game village
would contributed greatly to the development of sports in Nigeria. The
multimillion dollar game village is expected to contribute about 60 per
cent of Nigerian athletes in the next Olympics, to avoid a re-occurrence
of the disgraceful result at the just concluded Rio Olympics in Brazil
The
games village is not just about football, other varieties of sports
would also be put in place inside the village, and through the games
village Ubah would creates about 5,000 employments, thus helping to
empower Anambra people.
Ubah
through his philanthropy gesture has given scholarship to thousands of
deserving students from primary to secondary schools; giving many
students the opportunity to acquire qualitative education their parents
and guardians cannot gave them.
Politically,
Ubah who contested last governorship election in Anambra State on the
platform of Labour Party and the Coordinator of Transformation
Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) during the 2015 general elections has
proved beyond reasonable doubt that he is a heavy weight in Nigeria
politics. Prior to the last Anambra gubernatorial election, Ubah because
of his passion for Ndi Anambra declared his interest to govern the
Light of the Nation State with a strong passion to use public office and
government to touch many lives more than what he did while in private
sector. But while many people saw the election as do or die, Ubah did
not see it as do or die base on his strong conviction that Abraham
Lincoln, the former President of United States failed three times to
become American President, but eventually won the fourth time and became
the best President America has had till date. Though he may not have
won the governorship, but there are several proofs that he had touched
the life of Anambra people during and after the gubernatorial election
more than many former governors and public office holders in the state.
As
the coordinator of TAN during last year general elections, Ubah
contributed immensely to the Goodluck Joanthan/Namadi Sambo and the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign by traversing the
nooks and crannies of Nigeria to sell the candidature of Jonathan.
Though Jonathan and PDP lost at the federal level and many states they
were controlling then to the All Progressives Congress (APC), PDP was
able to have a good outing in Lagos State, where the opposition party
break a record by winning five House of Representatives and eight House
of Assembly seats. Apart from the PDP leaders and electorates, who made
the achievement a reality, Ubah also contributed to PDP’s success
through TAN by assisting the party’s candidates with finance.
Ubah,
the business mogul has succeeded where many people failed. The chief
executive officer and Managing Director, Capital Oil and Gas Industries
Limited, without any iota of doubt has distinguished himself in
business. Today, he steers the ship of some companies and sits on the
boards of several leading companies, who are doing great in the business
world within and outside the shores of Nigeria. Through hard work,
commitment, perseverance and visionary leadership, Ubah in the last 13
years has taken Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited to an enviable
position in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Family
wise, Ubah is an example of a good husband and wife having been able to
sustain his 19 years marriage with Uchenna. Unlike marriages of many
politicians and business man, which are facing serious storm due to lack
of love, respect and trust, Ubah’s marriage is intact till date. He
recently wrote a love letter full of praises to celebrate his wife’s
birthday on May 12. The latter went viral on social media, showing the
deep relationship between the two lover birds.
Considering
his qualities, wealth of experience and philanthropy gestures, there is
gathering storm from different quarters that Ubah should take a short
at the Anambra State governorship election.
Though
Ubah has not publicly declared to take part in the forthcoming
governorship election, many people are calling on Ubah to declare for
the governorship seat. Some of the school of thought who believe in
Ubah, believe that the business mogul can use his wealth of experience,
business network and philanthropy gestures to transform the fortune of
Anambra State if given the opportunity to be the next occupier of the
Amawbia Governors Lodge.
Ifeanyi
Ubah was born on September 3, 1971, to the family of Mr. and Mrs.
Alphonsus Ubah of Umuanuka village in Otolo town of, Nnewi in Anambra
State. He attended Okongwu Memorial Grammar School, (OMGS), Nnewi and
later enrolled in the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard
University, Massachusetts, USA, an Ivy League Institution.
Ubah,
who is passionate to succeed and being a leading light among his
contemporaries, became an apprentice at the age of 18. Having gained
enough knowledge and training from his principal, young Ifeanyi regained
his freedom and later established his own business.
Today, he is a business tycoon and founder of a network of successful business enterprises.
Ubah
became a millionaire at 19 years old, having made his first one million
naira at that age. He traded in tyre which he exported from Nigeria to
Ghana and his business interests then also included supplies of auto
spare parts to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
His
achievement in Congo led to his recognition as the President of the
Nigerian Community in DRC at a very young age. While leading the
Nigerian Community in Congo, Ubah was saddled with the responsibilities
of providing food and housing for Nigerian refugees who fled the
neighbouring Congo Brazzaville due to political crises and instability
that befell the country. He later established strong presence in
Belgium, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, United Kingdom and other
countries.
Having
distinguished himself in several businesses, Ubah some years ago
ventured into oil and gas industry. He floated Capital Oil and
established a business relationship with Ibeto Petrochemical Nigeria
Limited. Today, Capital Oil is one of the leading voices in the oil and
gas sector, not only in Nigeria but other country in Africa.
Despite
all odds, Ubah has achieved immeasurable success in business and he has
contributed immensely to the development of the Nigerian economy with
his entrepreneurial ingenuity.
His
contribution to the nation was recognised some years ago by the Federal
University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State, which conferred an
Honorary Doctorate of Management Technology (DMT) on him.
––Ezewulu writes from Lagos
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