The commissioner nominees recently screened by the Ondo State House of Assembly are expected to be sworn-in on Monday, December 13, 2021 by the Executive Governor of the Sunshine State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN. Meanwhile, one excellent nomination made by the Governor to represent Ifedore Local Government Area is Razaq Obe.
Razaq is an quintessential technocrat who is also evidently of outstanding qualities. This man of great values is undoubtedly poised to be an excellent addition to the Ondo State Executive Council. Simply put, the Sunshine State is lucky to have the intellectually savvy Razaq as a commissioner at this all important time.
The nomination of the Ilara-Mokin born Obe has been applauded by all the patriotic sons and daughters of Ondo State as one of the best things to have happened to the Sunshine State. He is evidently one of the best exports of Ondo State in the downstream petroleum sector of the nation.
The 45 year old Razaq Obe has made a name for himself in the Nigerian downstream petroleum sector. He was employed as a Senior Field Operations Procurement Advisor by ExxonMobil on September 1, 2008. In his bid for a higher challenge and patriotic service to Ondo State, Razaq on September 1, 2021opted
for an early retirement after 13 years of meritorious service to ExxonMobil, having attained the position of Operations Contract Manager.
Evidenced commitment of Razaq Obe and his innate leadership prowess saw to his choice as the Head of ExxonMobil Senior Staff and he served in this position for three years. He was also made a
member of Board of the ExxonMobil Employees Savings and Pensions Funds. He likewise served as a member of the Ministerial Committee on Contract Staffing in Nigerian oil and gas industry. This committee was chaired by the Nigerian Minister of State for Labour and Productivity.
Earlier, Razaq Obe was in 2007 employed as a Management Executive by the Nigerian telecommunication giant, Globacom. He also had his mandatory one year NYSC service with the Nigerian Gas Company in Warri, which is a subsidiary of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Antecedent of the Petroleum Engineering graduate of the University of Benin clearly placed him far and above all his contemporaries as he is vastly experienced, intellectually gifted and robustly urbane. The thirst of Razaq Obe for knowledge in year 2012 took him to the Red Brick University of Liverpool where he obtained MSc in Oil and Gas Project Management. In spite of his extremely busy schedules, he is at present a Doctoral Researcher at the Edinburgh Business School, Herriot Watt University, United Kingdom.
Exceptional leadership qualities of Razaq Obe began to manifest while in the University of Benin where he served as the president of Nigerian Universities Engineering Students Association (NUESA). He was equally saddled with the responsibility of serving as a
member of Students Union Parliament in addition to serving as the Vice Chairman of the University Congress of Masses. It is on record that Razaq Obe put a stop to the
imposition of handouts purchase,
sexual harassment of female students and other exploitations of students while in the University of Benin.
The rare courage and exceptional leadership qualities of Razaq Obe convinced the majority of University of Benin students to elect him as the Students Union President. However, it is also on record that the school management at the time unjustly aborted Obe’s victory out of the fear for his leadership prowess and courage to challenge injustice. Remarkably, the protracted students unrest that followed this action unconscionable action of the institution’s management eventually changed the university in many ways.
Notwithstanding the career demands and social sophistry of Razaq Obe, he still managed to create time to attend to the needs of his community. He is quiet and an unsung philanthropist who is determinedly committed to helping humanity. He has thus far sponsored and supported scores of students in tertiary institutions; albeit quietly.
He is an ardent believer of family values and this obviously informs the fact that he is happily married and the marriage is blessed with healthy and responsible children.
It is a fact that the streets of Mecca are reputed for their grandiose cleanliness because of the manifest commitment of the sweepers. In the determined bid of Akeredolu’s led administration, to developed Ondo State, the Governor has undoubtedly placed a round peg in a round hole with the nomination and successful screening of Razaq Obe as Ondo State commissioner.