Award Medals Uptick Ogungbangbe For APC's Ticket

By ISAAC OLUSESI

The Dr Thomas Olaleye Ogungbangbe medal pouch, a bagful of awards, honours and prizes for accomplishments and recognitions, has the Thomas Sankara Pan-African Prize for Excellence as Patriotic Icon of the Year, Leadership Excellence Award for Oil & Gas by BusinessDay, and the Icon of Societal Development Award from the West African Student Union Parliament, among numerous others; and lately, Excellence in Professional Career Award, the penultimate Thursday.

The satchel of the prestigious awards issued by bodies corporate, were hallmarked by the nomination and entry of the name of Ogungbangbe, submitted by many credible individuals and corporations and institutions, jury reviewed, appraised by panelists and selection finalists, and his name as a winner, announced to apolitical acknowledgements, after the manner of Pulitzer Prize, established in 1917 by the Hungarian-born Joseph Pulitzer.

Ogungbangbe sits atop of CITA ENERGIES, the company that has  Nigeria's largest network of aviation fuel outlets across the entire airports in the nation's geo-political zones and "are distantly admired by other companies."

The 'Excellence in Professional Career award' to Ogungbangbe by Ilesa Social Elite Club, like the previous awards of excellence to him is, as a matter of fact, speaking to the aviation fuel infrastructure, retooled by him for autoregulation through his adaptability and strategic thinking, with safety in the sky as end.

And his relentless deployment of global trends informed his decision, liberalizing increase in the number of companies within Nigerian aviation fuel industry to about 40 today, from 6 companies when he assumed office as pioneer President of the Aviation Fuel Marketers Association of Nigeria (AFMAN). 

He developed a sustainable fuel discharge measurement, tagged Bulk Roads Vehicles (BRVs) with more accurate volumes recorded via meter, in the stead of the old measurement by haulage vehicles; and he navigated the challenges of infrastructure constraints, policy inconsistencies and pluralisation by his policy reforms with industry collaboration, and the exercise came out excellently.

The global recognition that Ogungbangbe strives for excellence in everything he does in and out of his professional career, and even in his politics and aspiration to be in the nation's Senate from his Osun East Senatorial District, is a reference to his responsive leadership and responsibility at CITA ENERGIES, AFMAN and as a serving member of the federal government's six-man Ministerial Committee on Aviation Fuel Pricing and Product Availability. 

His efforts as president of AFMAN have recast the aviation fuel industry, surged far and above the industry benchmark with impact on the nation's energy sector and host communities. The milestone discipline, with dedication as internalized in him during his growing work experiences at the management level of transnational banks and multinational Chevron Oil, and MRS, National Oil, Conoil, coupled with his 18years at CITA's topmost management, is enough a credential for him to cause, in the Senate, significant contributions to Nigeria's economic growth. 

His Oil & Gas sector is fundamental to the nation's GDP. And his rich, diverse background in technical expertise in the oil and gas production, refining and distribution will profoundly be beneficial to the NASS policy formulations and oversight function.

Responding to the awards at any point in time and anywhere, Ogungbangbe says, "I will leverage my expertize in Oil & Gas to drive development policies that will make the nation's economy less dependent on imports, rather will impute sources to help us export more. That will put us on the world map economically."

The other leg of Ogungbangbe's trophy is his shared personal values, his extensive empathy and philanthropism, doing more, particularly, in support of education, health, politics, and good life and living for communities and individuals. He gave a $100,000 research grants to the University of Ilorin for a study of aviation fuel contaminants.

And he constructed the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport road network at the cost of #300million; and he has continually funded scholarships for Ph.D students of Osun State origin, and many more of such scholarships for indigent but brilliant students of Osun in tertiary institutions of learning in Nigeria and overseas

Ogungbangbe, independently, supported mass deworming of children across states in Nigeria under the Pfizer's commitment to global health, and made donations of 20,000 vials of pain relief injections to Osun State government, refuelling kits to the Nigerian Air Force, electric transformers to Lagos and Abuja airports; and cash gifts to the Port Harcourt and Warri member communities. It's just within his domesticity of giving, with giving as a revolving door.

He gifted stacked cash to the Ijesa South and North APC candidates in the 2023 NASS elections, and the largesse, in tones of millions of naira simultaneously, was replicated in many federal constituencies in Nigeria, in aid of his progressive friend candidates in the polls. 

And somewhat in August, this year, he donated very close to #30million to 145 APC chairmanship, vice chairmanship and councilorship candidates from Osun East Senatorial District (2024) as tax clearance for local government election, billed for early next year. That financial implosion could affect the chances of winning elections, amidst the strings of electoral politics strewn with challenges is meaning making to Ogungbangbe.

Ogungbangbe made similar largesse in food support with the 20,000 units of food palliatives to local government areas in Osun via NULGE. And recently, just at Yuletide, Christmas season on hand, he shared consignments of several bags of rice in pyramids and trucks, in increments of thousands of bags of rice at no cost to Osun APC, with absolutely free 2 bags of rice per ward across Osun East and correspondingly, to the party and community leaders in the state as a whole.

His other penetratingly impactful supports would include the fact that he constructed and donated Christian sanctuaries and Muslim mosques where  communities nationwide can worship God, athwart or across denominations, ethnicity and political affiliations. What about his financial aids to public spirited projects of Authentic Nigeria Football Supporter Club, VCN Sports International Table tennis Court for RCCG Traffic Squad? He has also sponsored novelty football matches in Oku-Iboku, Ilorin, Warri, Gombe, Kano, and lately, Ilesa. 

All of the humanitarianism, kindness speaks volumes of the man, Dr Ogungbangbe, business leader, scholar and philanthropist. 

His other distinction is, he's so friendly to rely on for trust, empathy and support. So much for Osun East to gain from the party's ticket to him.

*OLUSESI writes via* isaacolusesi@gmail.com