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OGD At 67: The Man Beyond Politics By Seun Oloketuyi (Mr BON)

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In the game of politics, power and excellence do not usually mix because as they say, power corrupts. This is why politicians all around the world endure harsh scrutiny irrespective of their use of power, achievements and general actions in and out of the political space.

A close look at the man Nigerians have come to know as OGD may reveal why he faces even harsher scrutiny. This is because he defies all available stereotypes of career politicians.

A brilliant engineer with proven and visible results over the years, OGD seemed to have always been marked for success.

Long before the beginning of his political sojourn, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) had made a name as the owner of Kresta Laurel, an electro-mechanical engineering company, which he started in 1990. The company eventually grew to become one of the biggest companies in Nigeria, and by age 40, he was already rated one of the richest men in Nigeria by Newswatch.

In his early years as an undergraduate, he had won several scholarships and was so much of a prodigious student that during his year as a National Youth Service Corp member at the School of Engineering of the Lagos State Polytechnic, he supervised the construction of the Engineering complex and also conducted the semester examinations for the School of Engineering. An unrivalled feat for one at his level, he swiftly followed up with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos. In later years, he crowned his business studies with an executive programme in 1990 at the Lagos Business School.

While growing a reputable career, all of which prepared him for the rigours of politics, OGD worked at Metal Construction (W/Africa) Limited as the Assistant Commercial Manager. In 1983, he joined the then multinational company, H.F.SCHROEDER West Africa Limited, Lagos and as a result of his diligence, rose to the position of deputy managing director at Schroeder, becoming the first African to hold such a position in the company’s history.

Kresta Laurel, his brainchild that specialised in elevators, overhead travelling cranes and hoists was a consolidation of his abilities and vision as an engineer.

As a man who loved to craft, build or bridge gaps, OGD had always operated at the fringes of Nigerian politics, always doing his bit for his country.

After graduation and his consolidation as a business-minded engineer, OGD joined the Yoruba social-cultural group Afenifere under the then leadership of Pa Abraham Adesanya. During the struggle against the military juntas and campaign for the reinstatement of the annulled June 12 election, Gbenga Daniel became one of the financiers of the National Democratic Coalition (Nigeria) NADECO providing support to members who were fleeing the country to seek asylum abroad.

In 2003, he finally threw his hat into the political ring to vie for the office of the governor of Ogun State. His campaign strategy at the time of meeting with every stakeholder of every street and area in the state to sell his ideas redefined campaign trends in Nigeria. It was therefore not much of a surprise when in a landslide manner, he defeated the incumbent Governor Olusegun Osoba with the widest margin ever at the time in the Ogun State governorship race.

As governor, his unique insight saw him run an open government that allowed the people access to their leaders and this became the yardstick for subsequent officeholders. This, among other things, secured his return for a second term, which secured his win against a new opponent.

Since he left the number one seat of the Ogun State government, he has sustained his relevance in the business and political world with impressive grace.

In 2016, he was elected president of, the Nigerian-Finnish Business Council, which was established to foster business relations between Nigerian companies and their counterparts in Finland to encourage trade and investment. Never one to rest on laurels, he started KLL Construction Limited in 2017 to present a new kind of construction company culture in Nigeria.

In addition to relevance, despite all political persecution, the enigmatic founder of Conference Hotels was one of the only office holders not prosecuted by the EFCC despite repeated scrutiny and is as a result headed back to the Senate as a free man to serve his people once again.

Beyond politics, OGD is a tried and tested leader, with a proven interest in growth with or without the backing of political power. As he begins his sojourn into the Nigerian Senate, his antecedent proves that not only is he the right fit for the people of Ogun and all patriotic Nigerians, he is a man to be honoured, emulated and celebrated as he clocks 67.

BIG STORY

UNN Suspends, Probes Lecturer For ‘Attempting To Sexually Assault’ Student

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A lecturer known as Mfonobong Udoudom has been suspended by the University of Nigeria (UNN) for what it called an “inappropriate affair” with a student.

Viral videos surfaced on Tuesday showing the senior lecturer of general studies pacing around his office in his pants, looking visibly alarmed.

Sources at the university said that the lecturer was “caught pants down attempting to have sex with a married female student of the school.”

According to the sources, Udoudom had a long-standing custom of “passing female students only after sleeping with them.”

He was accused of forcing a female student to understand that she would fail his course unless she agreed to have sex with him.

One of the sources, under anonymity, said the female student planned with her husband to entrap the lecturer while working with UNN security and other students.

The student source further said the security agents forcefully broke into his office and caught the lecturer “in action.”.

“It was planned out with her husband and security agents at the school. The female was made to approach the lecturer to offer him money in order to scale through his course. He refused and insisted he needed to have sexual intercourse with her in his office,” the source said.

“When the lady succumbed to his demands and asked him to undress, he was caught wearing only boxers.”

In the now-viral footage, a witness is heard saying, “We have been following this case from day one. We have all the chats, voice notes, video calls, and every conversation he had with the female student.”.

When contacted, UNN management told TheCable that Udoudom has now been suspended.

Okwun Omeaku, UNN’s acting media spokesperson, said the senior lecturer will be made to face the staff disciplinary panel.

“The indefinite suspension is with immediate effect pending the outcome of a disciplinary panel constituted by the university to investigate the incident,” he said.

“UNN has a zero tolerance for sexual misconduct involving our staff and students.

“We are committed to protecting our students from any form of abuse and exploitation. The university management will not hesitate to punish Mr. Mfonobong David Udoudom according to our rules if he is found guilty.”

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Yahaya Bello Took $720k From State Treasury To Pay His Child’s School Fees — EFCC Chairman Olukoyede

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Ola Olukoyede, claims that Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi, took out $720,000 to cover his child’s upfront school fees.

Olukoyede made this known in Abuja on Tuesday during an interactive session with media executives.

The head of EFCC claimed that the former governor of Kogi transferred funds to a bureau de change operator and utilised them to pay his child’s school fees ahead of time.

Olukoyede added that Bello made the payment in anticipation that his tenure was gradually coming to an end.

“A sitting governor, because he knew he was leaving office, moved money directly from the government to bureau de change and used it to pay his child’s school fee in advance,” the EFCC boss said.

“Over $720,000 in anticipation that he was going to leave the government house. In a poor state like Kogi, you want me to close my eyes under the guise of ‘I’m being used’. Used by who? At this stage of my life.”

Olukoyede said he inherited the case file of the former Kogi governor, noting that he did not initiate the investigation against Bello.

On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege on Bello’s residence in Abuja to arrest him over alleged N80 billion fraud.

While the EFCC operatives were at Bello’s residence, Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, came to visit his predecessor.

Shortly after Ododo departed from the residence, the EFCC operatives also left the house.

Bello was reportedly rescued by Ododo when he departed his residence located in the Wuse Zone 4 district of Abuja.

Subsequently, the anti-graft agency declared the former governor wanted.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has also placed Bello on a watchlist.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Bello, alongside Alli Bello, chief of staff to Ododo; and one Daudu Suleiman, diverted about N80.2 billion belonging to the Kogi government.

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I’ll Tender Resignation If Yahaya Bello Is Not Prosecuted — EFCC Chairman Olukoyede

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The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has threatened to resign if he does not bring Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, to justice.

Olukoyede gave a speech in Abuja on Tuesday during an engaging conversation with media executives.

“If I do not personally oversee the completion of the investigation regarding Yahaya Bello, I will tender my resignation as the EFCC chair,” he said.

The EFCC boss also vowed that everyone involved in obstructing Bello’s arrest from his Abuja residence will face the full wrath of the law.

He also said he invited Bello to his office for a more respectful and dignified interrogation, but that the ex-governor wanted EFCC operatives to grill him in his village instead.

“I called Yahaya Bello, as a serving governor, to come to my office to clear himself. I shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

“But he said that because a certain senator has planted over 100 journalists in my office, he would not come.

“I told him that he would be allowed to use my private gate to give him a cover, but he said my men should come to his village to interrogate him.”

Olukoyede said the EFCC did not violate any law while trying to arrest the former governor from his residence.

“Rather, we have obeyed the law. I inherited the case and I didn’t create it. Why has he not submitted himself to the law?” he asked.

“I have arraigned two past governors who have been granted bail now—WWillie Obiano and Abdulfatah Ahmed.

“We would have gone after Bello since January but we waited for the court order.

“As early as 7 am, my gallant men were there. Over 50 of them. They mounted surveillance.

“We met over 30 armed policemen there. We would have exchanged fire and there would have been casualties.

“My men were about to move in when the governor of Kogi drove in and they later changed the narrative.”

He vowed that all those who have dipped their hands into the public till would be investigated and prosecuted.

“If I can do Obiano, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Chief Olu Agunloye, my kinsman, why not Yahaya Bello?” Olukoyede said.

The EFCC is prosecuting Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

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