EXCLUSIVE: Ocholi, Lokpobiri, Anwuka make second batch of ministerial nominees

Heineken Lokpobiri, former speaker of the Bayelsa house of assembly and two-time senator, has made the list of the second batch of ministerial nominees submitted to the senate on Monday by President Muhammadu Buhari, TheCable can report.

Also on the list, which contains not-too-familiar names, are: James Ocholi (SAN, pictured), who recently contested for the APC governorship ticket in Kogi state but lost to Abubakar Audu; Anthony Anwuka, a professor of education administration who was secretary to the government of Imo state; and Isaac Adewole, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Others are Dan Ali, a brigadier-general who was retired in 2013; Okechukwu Enelamah, the CEO of African Capital Alliance; Claudius Omoyele Daramola, a professor of sociology of education, from Ondo state; and Aisha Abubakar.

TheCable could, however, not confirm the total number of nominees on the second list.

The first list, submitted on September 30, contained 21 names and senate confirmation is due to start on Tuesday, October 13.

Lokpobiri, born March 3, 1967, was speaker of Bayelsa house of assembly from 1999 to 2001, and senator of the federal republic from 2007 till 2015. He was appointed to committees on sport, public accounts, police affairs, Niger Delta and millennium development goals.

In 1994, he received an LL.B (Hons) from Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Rivers state, and got his BL in 1995.

He recently defected from the PDP to APC, along with Timi Alaibe.

Adewole has over three decades of experience as a physician with 23 active years as a clinical teacher at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

He served in administrative position for over 10 years as head of department, dean of faculty and provost of the College of Medicine.

He is the co-principal investigator of an international study on the fertility intentions of HIV-infected persons funded by the NIH.

The professor is also the president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) with a primary duty is to fashion out strategic plan for the organization and develop capacity of African physicians and nurses to manage, treat and prevent cancer.

Enelamah, as CEO of African Capital Alliance, has five funds under his management, including Capital Alliance Private Equity I, II & III and Capital Alliance Property Investment Company LP.

ACA, which principally invests in Nigeria and countries in the Gulf of Guinea, is reputed as the leading independent private equity firm investing in West Africa.

He previously worked at Zephyr Management L.P. and South Africa Capital Growth Fund in New York and Johannesburg respectively. He also worked for Arthur Andersen and Goldman Sachs.

He is a medical doctor, but went on to qualify as a chartered accountant. He has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is a chartered financial analyst.

Anwuka, born on April 22, 1951 in Egbuoma, Imo state, is a professor of education and was, until his appointment as secretary to the state government, the vice chancellor of the Imo State University, Owerri, for five years.

In 1974, he studied English Language and Literature at Fourah Bay, University of Sierra Leone, and then did his master’s in educational administration and planning at the University of Portland, Oregon USA in 1975.

He did his doctorate degree programme in general curriculum, system analysis and social studies at the University of Washington Seattle, USA in 1977.

Daramola, from Aye in Ondo state, attended the University of Sokoto (now Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University) where he received B. Sc. Ed. in sociology. He later attended the University of Jos and obtained M. Ed. in sociology of education.

He earned his PhD from the University of Ilorin, where he has been a professor of sociology of education and was once head of the department of arts and social sciences education.