As the race to replace Governor Ifeanyi Okowa heats up, amongst the candidates seeking to occupy the Government House in Asaba, one name stands out – Chief Olorugun Kenneth Gbagi -, a former Minister of Education discernibly leads the pack in terms of pedigree and competence.
Mr Kenneth Gbagi is a real estimate manager, who owns variety of hotels, shopping malls, residential buildings amongst others
Also he had served Delta state in many capacities is seen as having the experience needed to bring good governance to the state.
After the creation of Delta State in 1993, the Military Administrator of Delta State then, Colonel Bassey Asuquo, who knew the resourcefulness and single-mindedness of Gbagi appointed him Chairman of Delta Development and Property Authority (DDPA)
Within that short period, Mr Gbagi came up with a revenue formular that saw the DDPA, which had a zero account balance when he assumed office, to have over N800 million in its accounts from issuance of Certificates of Occupancy.
At national level, he was later appointed as the chairman of the committee to develop the Federal Housing Estate at Gwarimpa Abuja by the government of late General Sani Abacha. The seasoned administrator also performed excellently well at the job.
Perhaps, the test of Olorugun Gbagi’s astuteness came in 2012 when he was appointed as Minister of state for education by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
As a minister for State For Education, under his tenure, 13 Federal Universities were created, while numbers of educational reforms were introduced which saw to heavy government funding of tertiary, secondary and primary schools. By and large, these reforms have helped increased the access of millions of Nigerians to education at all levels.
Mr. Alex Asikpi, describes the former minister in terms of his capacity as
“A businessman and an industrialist who has employed hundreds and provided opportunities to numerous Deltans, Gbagi has the leadership qualities and what it’s takes to lead Delta State to the promised land. He had demonstrated and shown capacity while as Minister of State for Education and has a successful entrepreneur and industrialist.
“At this point, Delta State needs someone like Gbagi that will unite all sections of the state and take the state to another level.
“Many people in Delta State, believe that the Gubernatorial candidate under the Social Democratic Party,( SDP) has all it takes to win the election and take Delta State to higher pedestals”. he concluded.
Dan Zaki Media 