Corporation (DPPC), Olorogum Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu,
OUR personality this week is a Deltan from the Urhobo stock. I hear he is an easy going person, a man of the people and a committed Christian of the Catholic faith. He is a workaholic, a mobilizer of human and material resources, who settles for nothing but positive results when he gets down to work. Information has it that he has penchant for getting things done properly yet, he is a team player. He is Olorogum Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu, Chairman, Board of Directors, Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation, Publishers of The Pointer Newspapers.
He holds a B.Sc Degree in Political Science (Second Class Upper Division); a Masters Degree in Public Administration, both from University of Benin, Benin-City in Edo State, and a Doctorate degree in Public Administration, specializing in Local Government Administration from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, also in Edo State.
To prove his mettle for Public Administration, he has written no less than two education articles in Public Administration Journals and initiated automatic scholarship for First Class degree holders in all fields of discipline when he was chairman, Delta State Scholarship Board in 2008, a scheme, we were told was later copied by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Also as proof of his love and commitment to the growth and development of education, I have it on good authority that he had sponsored quiz competitions in secondary schools, built and equipped a library single handedly in the Faculty of Management Sciences, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and named after him as: Prince Ebenezer Okorodudu Library in 2007. His commitment to education is, therefore, commendable, particularly in an environment where some or many wealthy persons invest their precious time, money and energy in some ventures that may not have direct positive impact on human capacity development.
It is said, “He who educates a man, educates a nation, and his footprints shall be planted, not on mean or perishable things, but on the fertile minds of the living. He would stand the test of time and be remembered for good, even long after he had departed this word”. May it be so for Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu’s venture into the public service has been a very rewarding one, not only to the system, but to many, who may have directly or indirectly had the privilege to have contact with him. Public opinion and my personal findings have shown that he is a man whose hands are open to help those who are oppressed in society and those who are genuinely in need. Many of the persons who spoke to me about him wasted no time to say; “Ebenezer Okorodudu has zero tolerance for oppression and injustice, and you could discern this from his body language”.
From a distance and from what a greater chunk of men and women, even ten years ago say about him, “You can’t meet Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu and not be positively impacted. Call him “Mr. Service”; “ Mr. we can do it,” you are right, as he confronts any challenge before him with wisdom, optimism and vigour. With him, there is no challenge that cannot be surmounted.
From fillers, “Wherever he finds himself to work, he builds a “family”, and leaves behind memorable and fond impressions on the minds of those he came in contact with. Is it a “dead place? Leave it for Okorodudu, when he steps in, life must return to the place. And where there is darkness, it must give way for light. This is my personal rating of him from afar, and I owe no one no apologies for this”.
As a matter of fact, I got more interested in him, and considered him for this week’s personality encounter, when, in the course of my public findings about him, one of my interviewees said: “I wish all public office holders were like Ebenezer Okorodudu, public office and the political space would have been a good place to serve the people”.
In pidgin English, she interjected at some points, and said: “Where Gov Sheriff Oborevwori for see this kind better man come serve the people? That probably tells it all. Well, sorry for this digression. I was talking about Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu’s public service, and his commitment to whatever he finds himself doing in this space. Ok, lets go. He was at one time on the Board of the Delta Printing and Publishing Company Ltd (DPPCL), publishers of The Pointer Titles, but now Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation (DPPC).
He was Commissioner for Commerce and Industry and Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Delta State at different times. He was also chairman of the State’s Scholarship Board; Special Project Director, upgrading 12 selected schools; Special Assistant to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, member, Management Board of Federal Medical Centre, Keffi; Zonal Organising Secretary, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State. He was the Chief of Staff to the immediate past Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly and now Governor of the State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori. Information has it that, in 2019, he joined the Department of Political Science, Delta State University, Abraka.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC), FCAI, FCIDA, FNHR and many more. He is from Okpara-Olomu in Ughelli South Local Government Area. Announcing his appointment as the Chairman, Board of Directors, Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation, DPPC, the opinion in some quarters was that he was going to a familiar terrain, haven been a one-time Board member in the company. However, Dr Okorodudu, in his characteristic manner did not waste time to hit the ground running in order to improve on what he met on ground in the Corporation. From the onset, therefore, he put merchinary in place to improve the relationship between the Board and management of the company in one hand, and between the Board and staff on the other.
Information has it that, since he became Chairman of the Corporation’s Board of Directors, there has been remarkable improvement in the Public perception and acceptance of The Pointer, thereby, translating into increased copy sales and advert placement. And for the first time in the history of the Corporation, a special edition of 81 pages of The Pointer newspaper was produced, with sixty-two and half pages of advert placement for the celebration of the 61st birthday anniversary of Gov Sheriff Oborevwori. That was, indeed, a landmark achievement. Kudos to the Chairman/ Directors, and the management and staff of the Corporation, who worked tirelessly behind the scene to make that remarkable achievement possible.
It is important to mention here that, within the short time of Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu’s tenure as Board Chairman of the Corporation, The Pointer unveiled It’s Digital Platform last weekend, warranting in the State House of Assembly saying; “We are proud of The Pointer.” Applauding the Corporation’s Board Chairman, management and staff, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Hon Emeka Nwaobi said, his previous reservations concerning The Pointer has been assuaged, following the recent development. In his words; “The launch of this rebranded news website is a right step in the right direction, and I express my deepest commendations.
The Board Chairman and the leadership of the Corporation have shown so much zeal , and I know that, in no distant time, the paper would climb to the national level. In his remark at the unveiling of the website, the Board Chairman disclosed that, within the short time of the Board, under his watch, the Corporation has remarkably increased the printrun of the paper without unsold copies daily. And as it stands today, The Pointer has subscription to the 25 Local Government Areas of the State. In addition, plans were underway to ensure that every member of the State House of Assembly and Ministries subscribe to the newspaper. This is, indeed, a laudable initiative under the Board Chairman, Dr Ebenezar Okorodudu, popularly known for not leaving anything to chance in order to succeed in whatever he sets out to do and wherever he finds himself.
