By FRANCIS TIMOTHY OKOEMU

The Esan community living in Manchester, United Kingdom, has endorsed Ambassador Dr. Chief Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi to vie for the governorship position of Edo State come 2024. The Esan Diaspora Community said Uhomoibhi would bring his wealth of experience to bear in providing good governance for the benefit of Edo state.

President of Esan Community in Manchester (ECM), Mr. Christian Ogbekhiulu, made this known in a gathering of members of the group.

The group recently held a party in honour of Ambassador Uhomoibhi in Manchester where the President described him as an Ambassador of sterling qualities, saying he has brought “unparalleled improvements” to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a reason which prompted them to endorse him to be the next Governor of Edo state.

According to the organizers of the party, his endorsement is also coming as a result of the Ambassador's intimidating track record and his unprecedented achievements in education, and health development in Esan land; in view of which he has been assessed as the best amongst the governorship aspirants in Edo state. “Edo people are lucky to have Ambassador Uhuomoibhi as their son,” Ogbekhiulu intoned.

“I will like us to take a cursory look at the antecedents of the amiable Ambassador of no small value: Amb. Dr. Martin Uhomoibhi is the President and Founder, of the Pan African Institute for Global Affairs and Strategy (PAIGAS), from 2015 till date.

“He is also the Chairman, Presidential Committee on the Review of Number and Strategy for Resourcing Nigeria's Diplomatic Missions Worldwide, October 2022- April 2023. He is the Chairman of the Academic Advisory Committee of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, from October 2022 till date.

“From 2016-2017, Amb. Dr. Uhomoibhi was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General in charge of the African Union and United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, Sudan.

“He was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 2010 to 2014, the longest-serving Permanent Secretary of the Ministry since its establishment in 1957,” Ogbekhiulu recalled.

Further tracing Uhomoibhi’s antecedents, Ogbekhiulu said the diplomat served as Ambassador of Nigeria to Switzerland and was the Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, adding that he also served a one-year term as President of the Human Rights Council.

“Worthy of note is the fact that he is the first African to have held that exulted United Nations position,” Ogbekhiulu stressed.

According to him, Dr. Uhomoibhi was also elected President of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), from 2007 to 2009. “Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Dr. Uhomoibhi served as the acting Director of the Office of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria from 2004 to 2007. From July 2003 to January 2004, he was Deputy Director and Head of the Division for Inter-African Affairs at the Ministry. In 2000, Dr. Uhomoibhi was appointed Minister and Deputy Head of Mission to the Nigerian Embassy in Addis Ababa, where he concurrently served as his Nigeria's representative to the African Union and to the Economic Commission for Africa until 2003. In 1999, he was appointed Consul-General of Nigeria in Atlanta, with responsibility for United States-Nigeria relations in the 16 states of the south-eastern United States. Dr. Uhomoibhi has also been serving as the President of the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization since September 2007,” Ogbekhiulu said.

According to his resume, From 1995 to 1999, Dr. Uhomoibhi served as Special Assistant to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, from 1993 to 1995, he served as coordinator and alternative representative of Nigeria to the Security Council in New York.

Dr. Uhomoibhi started his diplomatic career in 1984 when he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Senior First Secretary.

In his previous career, from 1977 to 1984, he was a lecturer in diplomatic and African history at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Dr. Uhomoibhi graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1976 with a Bachelor's degree in history. He holds a Master’s in history and political science from the University of Ibadan and a D. Phil from Oxford University in Modern History and International Relations.

The Esan-born Ambassador of international repute has the following in his catalogue of honours and titles: Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), Knight of St Gregory the Great (KSGG)-a Papal Knighthood conferred by Pope Francis. He is also a Knight of St John International (KSJI), The Onosejele of Esan Land- a chieftaincy title conferred by the Onojie of Irrua; and The Onosetale of Ewatto Kingdom-a chieftaincy title conferred by the Onojie of Ewatto; and Dan Majen Koko (The Bridge Builder) of Gwandu Emirate Kebbi.

He is a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt)-Honoris causa, awarded him by Igbinedion University, Okada an institution to which he is now Visiting Professor of International Relations.

Dr. Martin Uhomoibhi is a very humble party man, fully ready and prepared to serve.

The group described Ambassador Uhuomoibhi, as a one-man facilitator of the Proposed Jesuit University, Ewatto, Edo state, Nigeria. Jesuit is a Catholic church organization that has its Headquarters in Canada, Northern America.

“In view of the above, we believe in him. We are eternally grateful for the uncommon transformation that he brought to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and we are grateful ahead, in anticipation of more innovations and developments that he will bring to Edo state...We support him without any reservation,” the ECM said.