Ogboru Great Ovedje
215,938 votes (18.71%)
Ogboru Great Ovedje is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2019 Governorship Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Delta. They received 216K votes (18.71%).
Biography
Great Ovedje Ogboru, born on 10 April 1958, is a Nigerian businessman and politician who has been active in Delta State politics since the early 2000s.
He began his education at Municipal Primary School in Port Harcourt but relocated to Ughelli, where he completed his primary studies at Oharisi Primary School. He later attended Government College, Ughelli, from 1971 to 1975.
Ogboru pursued further education abroad, obtaining an external advanced level certificate in 1980 and later earning a Master of Business Administration from Huron University in the USA and a master’s in international relations from the University of Kent in Kent, England.
He worked as a marketing officer in a Lagos-based fishing company before founding Fiogret Ltd, a private fishing business that expanded across Africa. He also ventured into other enterprises, including a furniture company and a bureau de change in Warri.
During the 1990 coup attempt led by Gideon Orkar, Ogboru fled Nigeria with the help of his brother, Turner Ogboru, initially settling in London before moving to Angola and Namibia. He returned to Nigeria in June 2000, re-engaging with democratic politics.
Ogboru has contested multiple Delta State gubernatorial elections under various party affiliations, including the Alliance of Democracy, Democratic Peoples’ Party, Labour Party, and All Progressives Congress (APC). His candidacies include 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2019, all resulting in losses.
In 2019, Ogboru ran as an APC candidate and received 215,938 votes but lost the election. His political career reflects a trajectory from oppositional challenges against incumbent governors to multiple unsuccessful bids for the Delta State governorship.
Party Positions
Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.
Agriculture
Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.
Security & Defense
Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.
Environment & Climate
Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.
Economy & Trade
Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.
Infrastructure
Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).
Enterprise grant support
Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.
Energy
Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.
Governance & Reform
Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.
Education
Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.
Healthcare
Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.
Technology & Digital
Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.
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