By CHUKS ASUAI
When on May 29, 2023, Sir Monday Onyeme was sworn-in as the Deputy Governor of Delta State, it turned out to be the making of history as was the very first time an Ndokwa man or woman would occupy such an exalted position in Delta state.
The development was remarkable and tended to correct the erroneous impression that nothing good ever comes the way of Ndokwa people, some of whom had consistently accused the state government of marginalizing the area.
The choice of Sir Monday Onyeme as Deputy Governor by Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, who took over the mantle of leadership from Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, did not come as a surprise given his wealth of knowledge, experience and professional background. He is a renowned Chartered Accountant and has had a successful career in banking.
Sir Monday Onyeme’s working experience in private and public life, especially his robust stewardship as Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue and later Delta State Internal Revenue Service, was a good testimonial for a higher service to the state and his immediate boss, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori did not hesitate to take advantage of the stuff he is made of.
Born at Ibabu, Onicha Ukwuani in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, the Deputy Governor holds the prestigious traditional title of Odoziani 1 of Ibabu Kingdom, and has had a ‘lion’s share’ of outstanding accomplishments in life.
He is widely travelled and has interacted with national and global counterparts through attendance of trainings, seminars and workshops locally and internationally, which took him to foreign climes like Dubai, Sudan, Florida, Texas, London, Oxford, Mauritius, Paris, South Africa, India and many other places.
Sir Onyeme has various publications to his credit, including one he displayed his research prowess, titled “Corporate Environmental Accounting and Reporting in the United Kingdom: A Survey of Selected Companies in Cumbria (2004)”.
His professional warchest includes membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria.
A fraud buster, he is also a member of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Sir Onyeme, a Knight of Saint Christopher (KSC) of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) as well as a noble Knight, was the Chairman, Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR) on September 30th, 2015 to September 30th, 2019.
As a result of his contributions to the optimal increase of the Internally Generated Revenue Service of the State and his commitment to service delivery, he was reappointed by the Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, as Chairman, Delta State Internal Revenue Service (DSIRS).
Sir Onyeme is a philanthropist, a humanitarian who is a committed member of the International Association of Lions Club where he was the District Governor 404A1, International Association of Lions Clubs Nigeria between July 2018 and July 2019 where his contributions towards the well-being of humanity and his legacy projects for the good of the society still speak volume and continue to attract various awards.
He is humble, diligent, transparent, easily accessible and a devout Christian, who would stop at nothing to do his ethnic nationality, Ndokwa, proud in his service to Deltans as the State Deputy Governor.
The Ndokwa nation should count itself lucky to have Sir Monday Onyeme as an illustrious son, just as Deltans should rest assured of the lofty ideas and expertise he would bring to the table in the governance of the state, especially in the management of the state’s resources.
The Oborevwori administration needs the support and prayers of Deltans to succeed and we should not hesitate to contribute our quota towards the realization of its M.O.R.E agenda aimed at advancing Delta to the next level.
CHUKS ASUAI is a grassroots politician and founder of the Delta Grassroots Network (DGN)
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