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Sir Edwin Egwonomu Ogidi-Gbegbaje is not your run-of-the-mill civil servant, he depicts an extraordinary egghead who has set a benchmark that cannot be easily equaled. He is reputed for hard work and dedication to duty.
It is not out of place to say Ogidi-Gbegbaje, the Delta State permanent secretary, Directorate of Government House and Protocol has an in-depth knowledge of his career. Little wonder, he made a mince meat of his assignments to the admiration of his superiors and subordinates.
One will not be far from the truth to say the heroes of an epoch are often recognized as its clear-sighted ones; their deeds and words are the best of their time. They are men like Ogidi-Gbegbaje who exerts every ounce of his wealth of experience and energy to ensure he puts his best to achieve the desired result regarding his duties.
Ogidi-Gbegbaje is a perfectionist with a difference; he attaches great value to integrity and honesty not undermining a disruptive mindset and unmistaken eyes for details.
Apart from his zeal for honesty and transparency, Ogidi-Gbegbaje has milk of kindness literally running in his veins and this is evident in his penchant for humanity. This seems to be clearly ingrained in his DNA as he has touched lives of the less-privileged across the country.
Under his watch as the president of the Rotary Club, GRA branch, Asaba, boreholes and classrooms were constructed for the less-privileged.
Although he prefers to surreptitiously assist the needy, his passion for humanity was made known by those who benefitted from his humanitarian gestures. They were so exhilarated that they festooned him with garlands and made his good deeds public.
The smooth taking bloke had in the past assisted in offsetting medical bills of the sick, granted scholarship to students and ameliorated the standard of living of his people with the limited resources at his disposal.
Last year, instead of organizing a lavish shindig to celebrate his birthday, he implored his friends to donate towards the rehabilitation of the Paracletan Hope Home, an orphanage and child rehabilitation centre based in Okpanan near Asaba, Delta State.
Ogidi-Gbegbaje also keyed into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 4) which embraces the concept of ‘Quality Education for all’, by distributing countless number of books to primary school pupils in Uvwie LGA of Delta State.
Among the schools that benefited from this gesture were Alegbo Primary School, Ekpan Primary School, Okugbe Primary School; all in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.
He also supported the scholarship funds of the Ovie of Owvie Kingdom, Dr Emmanuel .E. Sideso, with 400 exercise books (six packs of 60 leaves exercise books)
Despite the rising profile of the Uhrobo, Delta-born Ogidi-Gbegbaje, he remains self-effacing, gracious and polite. He likes to pursue his dreams with unbent resolve to succeed, irrespective of the challenges that may come his way and has a way of surmounting challenges that confront him.
