Ekiti/Osun 2022
Akin Ogunbiyi: Risks Master Lays Out Premium Plan For Osun
By Emmanuel Aziken
The emergence of two of the nation’s insurance chiefs Akin Ogunbiyi and Gboyega Oyetola as governorship candidates in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State may have put the industry in reckoning in the affairs of the state.
Indeed, Dr Ogunbiyi, chairman of Mutual Benefits Assurance plc emerging as the candidate of Accord to challenge the incumbent and former insurance executive, Gboyega Oyetola may be a delight for insurance executives in the country.
Ogunbiyi’s emergence as Accord candidate follows the internal wranglings that characterized the emergence of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The primaries that produced Adeleke was reportedly largely characterized with disputations leading to parallel primaries with the system in the PDP backing Adeleke.
However, Ogunbiyi who had built a strong grassroots support base within the PDP that was largely fanned by the crave for an indoctrination of intellectual flavour into the ticket was urged on by party supporters to move over to Accord.
Following his adoption by Accord, Ogunbiyi is now set to launch his campaign on April 26 in a contest that is largely set to see two insurance gurus matching one another with the side attraction of the dancing steps of Senator Adeleke, famed as Nigeria’s dancing senator on account of his prowess in the “Owambee Circuit.”
How Oyetola and Ogunbiyi engage one another in defining the issues facing the state will excite many stakeholders especially against the background of restiveness in the two major parties, viz: APC and PDP.
The APC is shadowed with internal dissensions following the falling apart of Oyetola and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the immediate past governor of the state who had campaigned seriously for the incumbent’s emergence in 2018. However, in 2022, Aregbesola has even campaigned more vigorously even with the shedding of blood against the governor’s re-election.
The prospects of the Aregbesola camp working against Oyetola is not hidden. But how Ogunbiyi can mine from the APC quarrel is what many will be hoping to see given the popular distaste by the Aregbesola camp for the PDP candidate.
The Accord candidate will also be energized by the solidarity of PDP members who left or remain in the party but were dissatisfied with the outcome of the primaries.
Whatever, the Ogunbiyi aspiration is gaining traction on ground with respected members of the society giving vent to his ambition.
One of those who have backed him is the respected former Head of Service of the state, Elder Segun Akinwunsi.
In a statement made available to newsmen, he gave reasons for his passionate support of Ogunbiyi to become governor of Osun State:
“He is not coming because of the glamour of the office or to make money. He will definitely make the long- awaited difference in the lives of our people. He has a value-delivering NGO that has been providing support, opportunities and gainful employment for our people. We should be the one pleading with Akin Ogubiyi to come and use his experience and unique expertise to develop our State, not the other way round,” Akinwusi said.
“Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi is a business icon who has continuously impacted millions of lives through his unlimited philanthropic gestures and CSR initiatives sponsored by his companies to numerous individuals, families, and communities.
“His Foundation, the Akin Ogunbiyi Foundation has supported over a hundred scholarship awards and sponsorship of students in secondary, tertiary, and professional education,” the statement backing the bid to be Osun governor read.
Ogunbiyi with a PhD in Insurance and Risk Management (Hon) before founding Mutual Benefits Assuance, had before then was the pioneer Chief Executive of Finance & Insurance Expert Limited, a firm of Finance, Insurance, Environmental and Management Consultants as Managing Partner/Chief Executive Officer in 1992.
He has also nurtured many other businesses within and outside the finance sector and today is the e Group Chairman of Mutual Benefits Group- a Conglomerate with nine subsidiaries and over 5,000 employees, who are gainfully employed in various value-adding sectors of the Nigerian and other nations economies. Akin is the Chairman of the USIG, a real estate investment firm and Charles Enterprises LLC; both in the USA, and CIL (Inc) UK.
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