Senator Ewherido - A Quintessential Leader

Are some people born to lead? If we look at the great leaders of the past such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Queen Elizabeth I, and Abraham Lincoln, we will find that they do seem to differ from ordinary human beings in several aspects. The same applies to the contemporary leaders like George W. Bush and Mahatma Gandhi. They definitely possess high levels of ambition coupled with clear visions of precisely where they want to go. These leaders are cited as naturally great leaders, born with a set of personal qualities that made them effective leaders. Even today, the belief that truly great leaders are born is common.

Top executives, sports personalities, and even politicians often seem to possess an aura that sets them apart from others. According to the contemporary theorists, leaders are not like other people. They do not need to be intellectually genius or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they definitely should have the right stuff which is not equally present in all people.

For Senator (Barr). Akpor Pius Ewherido, nature manifested very early in his life in the form of courage, leadership quality and self assurance.

To these qualities were added high moral uprightness, love and honesty, attributes he inherited from his parents. These qualities are what constitute Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido, member who represented the Ughelli South local government area in Delta State House of Assembly. Ewherido was born, May 4,1963 in Ughelli, Delta State to the family of Pa Joseph Ewherido and his wife, Paulina. The third child in a family of eight, all males, he had his elementary education at St. Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Ughelli and Ekwerigbe Primary School, Ozoro, all in Delta State. He proceeded to Notre Dame College, also in Ozoro and Urhobo College, Effurun, Delta State. He studied Philosophy at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where he emerged the best graduating student in his class.

After his National Youths Service in the then Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye, he plunged into business and was a successful businessman in Warri. Simultaneously, he enrolled at the University of Benin where he studied law and was later called to the Bar. Ewherido cut his teeth in national politics when he joined United Nigerian Congress Party (UNCP). After the transition was aborted he went back to full-time business until1998 when he joined the People's Democratic Party (PDP). He contested and won the Ughelli South constituency election in 1999 to represent the constituency in Delta State House of Assembly.

He was the pioneer Deputy Speaker of the House in 1999 and was for over a year the acting Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly during which time provided very distinguished, vibrant and robust leadership. He also served his constituency faithfully and diligently, attracting a sizable number of projects spread all over the towns and villages in Ughelli South local government area. In appreciation of his contribution to his constituency, his party returned him as the candidate for Delta State House of Assembly in 2003. Today, he is the senator representing Delta Central Federal Senatorial Destrict of Delta State at the Nigerian Senate. A remarkably urbane, cosmopolitan, public-spirited and new-age politician, he has a mind that is well attuned to the Winston Churchill dictum that “The price of greatness is responsibility”. He has a moderated view about life and he is far removed from the prevailing haughtiness and vacuous hedonism that rudely characterise our political firmament.

Also in acknowledgment of his contribution, his paternal people honoured him with the chieftaincy title of Otemunoruemu of Ewu Kingdom, while his maternal hometown bestowed on him the title of Adjerese of Effurun-Otor Kingdom and the Ej-Urhobo-Yovwi of Olomu Kingdom. Senator. Ewherido is an ardent long tennis player and follower and a soccer enthusiast. He is married to Doye Ewherido (nee Bozimo) and they are blessed with children.

Promise Made Promise Fulfilled

In fulfilment of his election campaign promise, Senator Pius Ewherido representing Delta Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly instituted an Urhobo language competition among the youths in his senatorialdistrict, as a means of reviving mother language among youths. The key attraction in the competition open to youths between 10 and 25 years old is a brand new car.

The competition, Senator Ewherido said, was in fulfilment of his election campaign promise to promote the use of our mother language among youths, who he claimed had lost the ability to communicate in the language. 

Pledging his determination to revive fluent communication in local languages during a session with newsmen in his office, Senator Ewherido, lamented that our mother languages could be extinct given the progressing failure of many youths to speak or write in our languages.

The competition was held in the eight local government areas of Delta Central senatorial district with competitors being quizzed on topics ranging from “traditional idioms of Urhobo language to test their understanding of the language, Urhobo cultural attributes, innuendos, storytelling, translations from English to essay writing and debates among other considerations.”

Senator Ewherido - An Administrator Par Excellence

A lot of things have been said about Senator Pius Akpor Ewherido since his days as the Deputy Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, May 1999 – 2007, and yet many people have forgotten the most significant landmarks of his political career so far. The pillars of his political sagacity and tenacity are his dignity, integrity and nobility and they have formed the embodiment of his indefatigable personality in his honest and transparent service to humanity. As a pioneer Deputy Speaker of the House in 1999 and was for over a year the acting Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly during which time he provided very distinguished, vibrant and robust leadership. He also served his constituency faithfully and diligently, attracting a sizable number of projects spread all over the towns and villages in Ughelli South local government area.

These previous accomplishments are enough to prove the exemplary leadership of Senator Pius Ewherido which he has continued till date by sponsoring and co-sponsoring important bills in the Senate, such as, Devolution of Powers to States and Public sector Accountability Bill 2012, Welding Standards Regulatory Council of Nigeria (Establishment etc) Bill 2012, A Bill for an Act to provide for the Offence of Corporate Manslaughter 2012, he has also doggedly taken the plight of the workers and pensioners of the Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja, to the senate, clearly articulating the pains and sufferings of the workers of the company. He has demonstrated concern for the plight of his constituents to seek redress through the instrumentality of the legislature by presenting two petitions on the floor of the Senate on behalf of two of his constituents .

He is co-sponsor of the motions on “The State of Nigerian expressways”, designed to address the problems associated with non- completion of on- going federal road projects; “Economic Growth and worsening inequality in Nigeria: A call for New approaches to poverty Reduction’, which urges the federal government to consider new approaches to develop and implement policies and programmes on how to promote and generate job for intensive economic growth; and many other motions. Senators Pius believes education is key to sustainable human development and so has committed his energies and material resources to the educational development of Nigerian youths and tens of youths in Delta State have benefited from the Pius Ewherido Scholarship Scheme, through which he disbursed money to indigent students. There is also an annual Urhobo language compitition quiz in which winners are given cash prizes and a star prize of a brand new car.

As he said during the inauguration of the 7th senate and his swearing in as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at the Senate Chamber on Monday, June 6, 2011:

“By the grace of God I will redeem all my electioneering promises for my constituents by making sure I draw the federal government’s attention to the problems confronting my people”. He further promised jobless youths and graduates of his Constituency that he will immediately set in motion, a machinery to pool them and gradually secure job opportunities for them as the openings come. He also promised to draw the Federal Government’s attention to providing infrastructural facilities that would improve the standard of living of his Constituents. Reiterating his determination to also draw the Federal Government’s attention to the oil and gas wealth abundant in his constituency, he promised to make sure a responsible management of the resources accruable from oil and gas exploitation in the Niger Delta region is put in place to benefit majority of the people of the region.

With such strong words of commitment to the nation building of a New Nigeria, Senator Pius Ewherido has taken the challenge of leadership. Ewherido understands the task before him. It is without doubt a challenging task. The problems that he has to contend with are multi- farious and highly complex. In the senate of 109 members, he is a lone DPP senator. It takes gut and a level of proficiency and outspokenness for one to register a mark in such settings. Senator Ewherido, in the past one year has been able to give account of himself with an impressive and enviable performance record on the floor of the senate. Drawing from his wealth of experience as Deputy Speaker and Speaker of the Delta State House Assembly for 8 years, Senator Ewherido ranks among the best 10 senators in the present senate in terms of boldness, articulate contributions to debates on the floor of the Senate, mesmersizing texture of eloguence and the sublime grandeur of his logic and philosophical depth. His youthful and patriotic energy become handy whenever the opportunity arises for him to take the floor and make contributions to issues. Senator Ewherido, in the past one year has distinguished himself in this challenging environment as a man fully armed to stand for his people in the senate.

Aruviere Martin Egharhevwa Writes From London, United Kingdom.

Senator Ewherido: Standing Tall In The Senate

Looking very dispassionately at the current Senate, there are outstanding members who unarguably have high reckoning as model public officers. One of them is Senator. Pius Akpor Ewherido popularly known as ‘GOGOROGO’ representing Delta Central Federal Senatorial Destrict of Delta State. He is a towering figure in height and in character nobility. A Philosopher and a Lawyer, he is the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport committee.

A remarkably urbane, cosmopolitan, public-spirited and new-age politician, he has a mind that is well attuned to the Winston Churchill dictum that “The price of greatness is responsibility”. He has a moderated view about life and he is far removed from the prevailing haughtiness and vacuous hedonism that rudely characterise our political firmament.

He has an uncommon zeal for touching lives as evident in the massive life-enhancing projects which he has delivered to his constituency. His electrifying and magnetising aura gives smiles to faces, inspires hope and raises human dignity.

He has sincerity and integrity ingrained in his human nature, as such, he is a great man in line with Anatole France’s observation that “the first virtue of all great men is that they are sincere; they eradicate hypocrisy from their hearts.” As an epitome of simplicity, he admirably brings grace, simplicity and humility to bear on his endeavours, life and philanthropic works.

He has no supercilious air around him nor is he a slave to wealth; and as a man of deep-seated sense of purpose he continually seeks ways of advancing the common good and making life really good for the low members of the society in the tradition of progressive politics.

The privilege of good “nature” and “nurture” he inherited from his highly revered educationist father and his public-spirited mother must have imparted the noble and cherished “GOGOROGO” virtues of humility, uprightness and sublime humanness on him as he has the right disposition to position and power.

Senator Ewherido has an uncommon aversion for social disorder, leadership ineptitude, poor economic governance as well as the opprobrious monument of our national infrastructure deficit and the lack of innovativeness in managing our national affairs especially in area of integrative citizens’ welfare. To him, it is sad that nothing seems to work in our country except the “contracting department” of government.

It was his deep concern for national retrieval and remediation of the prevailing social disorder that made him to alert the nation on the ominous threat to our national growth by sponsoring a bill “Devolution of Powers to States and Public sector Accountability Bill 2012”.

He also has to his credit a number of other significant motions and bills such as Welding Standards Regulatory Council of Nigeria (Establishment etc) Bill 2012, A Bill for an Act to provide for the Offence of Corporate Manslaughter 2012. He is co-sponsor of the motions on “The State of Nigerian expressways”, designed to address the problems associated with non- completion of on- going federal road projects; “Economic Growth and worsening inequality in Nigeria: A call for New approaches to poverty Reduction’, which urges the federal government to consider new approaches to develop and implement policies and programmes on how to promote and generate job for intensive economic growth; among several others.

He is highly esteemed by his colleagues across party lines for his infectious personality, affability, knowledge and deep grasp of issues.

Aruviere Martin Egharhevwa (ACILEx) writes from London, United Kingdom.