“Big Grammar” Patrick Obahiagbon Appointed NDPHC Executive Director as Tinubu Taps His Oratory for Power Strategy
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed former lawmaker and Nigeria’s famed “big grammar” politician, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, as Executive Director, Strategy & Commercial of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).
The appointment, announced Friday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, takes immediate effect. Obahiagbon replaces Engineer Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, who resigned to pursue a career in Edo politics. Chukwuma Umeoji was also reappointed as Executive Director, Corporate Services.
Who is Patrick Obahiagbon?
Born April 12, 1960, the Benin-born lawyer is a UNIBEN Law graduate with dual Master’s degrees in Public Administration and International History & Diplomacy. He served 8 years in the Edo State House of Assembly and 4 years in the House of Representatives for Oredo, 2007-2011. He later became Chief of Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, 2011-2015.
Obahiagbon became a national sensation for his “grammatical caricature” and jaw-breaking lexicon like “Kakistocracy, Crinkum Crankum, Higi Haga”. He once said he spends an hour daily reading dictionaries, and insists his “idiolect is not advertently Obfuscative” but suited to “Pax Nigeriana” debates.
What’s NDPHC?
NDPHC was set up in 2005 to drive the National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP, with 10 plants and over 5,000MW capacity. The company owns plants like Ihovbor, Alaoji, Omotosho and Calabar. Under MD Jennifer Adighije, NDPHC recently restored 625MW+ to the grid and is pushing bilateral power sales.
In his new role, Obahiagbon will oversee NDPHC’s strategy and commercial operations. The company says it expects his “wealth of experience in public service and governance” to count.
