Roberts Orya eyes Benue State Government House, offers Blueprint for development of Benue State

Wed, Jul 28, 2021
By editor
13 MIN READ

Featured, Politics

By Anthony Isibor.

WITH the present economic situation in the country, coupled with the security challenges; kidnapping, banditry, inflation, and the disruption in productive activities arising from insecurity challenges, which have continued to negatively impact on the key development metrics in Nigeria, the reality is that Benue state like many other state in the country, is in a critical condition and in dire need of urgent transformation.

Benue state seems to be more hit by these adverse negative social and economic realities. With a substantial drop in the total revenue accruable to the state from N54.3 billion in 2019 to N47.2 billion in 2020, weak tax base because most of the citizenry of the state falls within the low incomes bracket, intractable refugees crisis and multiplicity of internally displaced persons, IDP, camps, current Public, Private Partnership, PPP, solutions appear inadequate to resolve the spates of moribund enterprises in the state, and the seemingly insufficient resources, both human and material, to tackle insecurity in the state.

Others are challenging infrastructure and power supply from national grid with heavy reliance on generators, challenging environmental and social issues resulting in attendant health issues, and food security crisis that threaten the status of the state as the “Food basket of the Nation” as farmers have abandoned their farmlands.

Benue State requires a pilot who is: experienced:

Someone who has the depth and breadth of experience in world-class leadership with commendable and proven results.

Passionate: Someone, who is passionate about the progress of the state, its people and its vast resources and has made significant contributions to the welfare and development of his people and is committed to the success of the state.

Visionary: Someone, who has a powerful vision, and a clearly articulated mission that will be the springboard to drive the transformation of the state.

One man ticks all the boxes, with unparalleled experience and exposure, commendable passion and a powerful vision. That man is no other than Chief Roberts Orya.

Orya is both a husband, Father, Visionary leader, Transformation agent, Astute businessman, Erudite scholar, magnanimous politician, community builder, grassroots crusader, corporate Executive Giant with unparalleled depth and breath of hands-on experience and exposure garnered from decades of experience.

He is a family man and is happily married with children, an avid reader and an excellent orator, who is vast and well versed in a diverse range of issues, including political and social issues

He is a fitness enthusiast, who is keen on keeping fit and spends a few hours daily with his fitness trainer.

He also enjoys playing lawn tennis and squash in his spare time.

He has a passion for youth development and is the patron of the Galaxy Football Academy, Makurdi, sponsoring some youths’ sports tournaments at the Makurdi club.

With over 32 years of versatile experience in the Banking and Finance industry that culminated at various times in the attainment of managerial peak either as Executive Chairman, Managing Director or Executive Director in Commercial, Investment and Mortgage banks as well as Development Finance Institutions in Nigeria, Roberts Orya is just the right man to lead Benue State into its full potential.

Young, humble, and sociable, Orya’s interest in the number one political position of his state under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, is indeed timely and a huge ray of hope for the people of Benue state especially.

Having succeeded in both the private and the public sectors with a pedigree that speaks volumes in his favour, Orya believes that he can replicate these previous achievements towards the development of his state.

To steer the state away from over-dependence on the Federation Account to the runway of Benue that is self-reliant, Orya has formulated transformation strategy, to address specific areas of Insufficient Resources, Cross Sector Issues, and the other Alarming Metrics being experienced in the state.

Having identified People, Funding and Performance Management as the most challenging issues to achieving the goals set out in the focus areas and priority sectors, Orya will be focusing on building a well capacitated and motivated workforce as the state will require people with both the capacity and broad competence to implement the Benue Expansive Transformation Strategy blueprint.

As an expert in revenue generation strategies and financial management, he also believes that the state will need to diversify its funding sources by attracting significant funding through private and third-sector involvement and sustainable engagements in Public Private Partnerships, PPPs, to allow it to achieve the vision.

For this reason, a new performance culture and performance management framework will be introduced to drive efficiency and accountability to ensuring the delivery of set objectives and targets.

Accordingly, a comprehensive Transformation Blueprint – The Benue Expansive Transformation Strategy, BETS, has been crafted towards ensuring that Benue State succeeds by design and not by accident.

Orya’s Vision is “To transform Benue State and improve the economic wellbeing of Benue people.

“A very strong passion for strategic organizational restructuring and turn-around management initiatives towards producing super returns to stakeholders, and creating developmental impacts to the economy.”

Chief Roberts Orya’s blueprint made available to Realnews shows that he has a powerful vision “to transform Benue State and improve the economic wellbeing of her people” and it is encapsulated in the Benue Expansive Transformation Strategy, BETS.

The Transformation Strategy focuses on Job and wealth creation, accelerated industrialization, sustenance of social harmony, massive investment in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, affordable housing, and education and healthcare reforms.

Orya before now has contributed towards the social advancement of Benue State and the livelihoods of his people through poverty alleviation and human capital development initiatives in various capacities.

He has been an active leader in community development activities with a view to improving some of these efforts, including the following;

As MD OF NEXIM, he employed 20 indigenes of Benue State out of a total nationwide staff strength of 123 in the bank.

Through a robust PPP engagement with the Benue State Government, he coordinated the renovation/upgrading of the hitherto dilapidated Benue Hotels, to an internationally branded 4 Star Hotel “Best Western Plus”.

He has also facilitated the attraction of Private Investment Capital of over N6 billion into the Benue economy.

Orya’s love for the Benue people led him to establish a NEXIM Bank branch in Makurdi to ease the burden of Benue indigenes travelling to Abuja for processing of loan applications and other services of the bank.

In 2005/2006, he self-funded the construction of a 7-kilometre road with two major bridges and 12 culverts starting from Gboko-Lessel Road junction to River Ude, the boundary landmark with Mbagen in Gboko LGA for his Community, in Ushongo LGA, Benue state.

Self-funded the on-going construction of an Information and Communication Technology, ICT, Centre for endowment to the University of Mkar, near Gboko in Benue State.

He has given Scholarships and training to over 25 students studying various courses/disciplines in several universities both locally and overseas.

Constructed and donated a huge examination and laboratory hall to Ugee Community Secondary School with a sustained support to the management.

Nearing completion of a 600-seating capacity Catholic Church, Akpe in Lahadi-Ugee for his Community, Ushongo LGA, Benue State.

In retainership Agreement with Atuna Clinic, Gboko since 2002 to provide free medical care for all widows, the aged and sundry.

He established the Roberts Orya Foundation, which is focused on youth empowerment and addressing the needs of the less privileged, among others.

Professional Credentials:

Orya has a M.Sc. in Banking and Finance, and also in Cyber Security. He is a Fellow of the CIB, The Chartered Institute of Bankers, Nigeria, ACIB, Associate Member, The Chartered Institute of Bankers, Canterbury, London, ACIP- Associate Member, Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria, AMNIM, Associate Member, Nigeria Chartered Institute of Management, MIMC – Member, Institute of Management Consultants.

He also holds a Diploma in Accounting, and a Teachers’ Grade Il Certificate

Professional Courses:

Harvard Executive Education Program September 2013

Mastering Trade Policy: Understanding and Acting in Today’s Economy.

 Saïd Business School University of Oxford – High Performance Leadership Programme November 2013

Leadership development for executives and senior managers

Personal Profile

He was appointed as the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) by Mr. President in August 2009. A position he held until 2016. On assumption of duty, the operational and financial performance of NEXIM had deteriorated to very alarming proportions. He immediately embarked on a 5-year strategic repositioning which centered on the key perspectives of Strategy, Risk Management and Corporate Governance, Financial Performance, Operations, Organisation and People. This led to the turnaround of the Bank’s fortunes in less than 2 years with a very impressive performance.

Chief Orya’s leadership turned the Bank’s fortunes from a loss-making position to a profit-making institution, massively supporting Nigerian non-oil exporters, creating thousands of direct/sustained jobs and generating foreign exchange earnings to the Nigerian economy.

Since the Bank’s establishment in 1991, this was the first time the Bank had consistently and consecutively made profits for five years (2010-1015), and paid dividend to its shareholders (CBN & MOFI) for years 2010 -2013

The Nigerian Export-Import Bank – NEXIM Bank was in the negative rating’ for a long time before Chief Orya took the reins in August 2009, but he quickly moved it to ‘B’ rating in 2012 and then progressed to become the ‘Best Performing African ‘DFI’ in 2013 at the Annual CEOs Forum of African Development Bank and Finance Institutions in Kenya in November 2013.

Under his leadership, in 2023, the NEXIM bank was able to re-establish very strong links and strategic collaborations with other global EXIM Banks and Development Finance institutions (DFIs) which were severed before his resumption as MD/CEO,

In November 2013, following the application made by Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of finance, he led the Nigerian delegation to the organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, headquarters in Paris, France and made the presentation on Nigeria’s Export Credit System that led to OECD’s formal inclusion of Nigeria to participate in OECD Export Credits Committee Meetings. NEXIM has been participating in these meetings since then.

In May 2015, Chief Roberts Orya was unanimously elected as its new ‘Honorary President by the Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions, G-NEXID, during its 10 Annual General Meeting at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. The G-NEXID, with a membership of 24 institutions from South America, Asia, Africa and Middle East was established in March 2006 at the joint initiative of Exim Bank of India and UNCTAD, as a platform to boost South-South trade and investment relations amongst the countries of the Southern Hemisphere.

At various times, he was the Vice Chairman of the BOND Sub-Committee of the Capital Market Committee set up by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, and Chairman of the Think-tank of the same committee.

He is also an active member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG. In addition, he has worked closely with all the Regulatory Bodies of the Finance Industry at the highest levels. He is presently into consulting, offering Financial Advisory, Management Consulting, Trade and Cybersecurity services to both the public and the private sectors.

Chief Roberts Orya is a prolific public speaker with broad and active participation at national, regional and global conferences and for a, including Nigerian Universities, other institutions of higher learning,  organised private sector, ECOWAS Commission, World Economic Forum, etc.

He has a very strong passion for strategic organizational restructuring and turn-around management initiatives towards producing superior returns to stakeholders and creating developmental impacts to the economy

Career Milestones

Following his appointment as MD Nigerian Export-Import Bank in 2009, he led the Bank from a loss-making position since its inception in 1991, to profile making position consecutively for four years (2010-2013), and from a ‘Negative rating’ held long before his appointment to a ‘B’ rating in 2012, then progressed NEXIM to be rated as the Best Performing African Development Finance Institution, DFI, by the Association of African Development Finance Institutions, AADFI, in 2013.

He initiated and actively promoted the Sealink Project, Regional Shipping Line, for the West and Central African regions with Nigeria as the dominant trading partner, to tackle non-tariff barriers associated with high cost of transportation/logistics and delayed transit time which hindered the deepening of intra-regional trade specifically in furtherance of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services

Under his watch the Bank’s visibility was significantly enhanced both in the national and global marketplace, thereby yielding extensive technical and financial collaborations with other EXIM Banks and Development Finance Institutions which resulted in the attraction of several huge concessionary lines of credit to Nigerian economy with commensurate enhancement in trade flows.

The Bank under Chief Orya’s leadership played a pioneer role in implementing Mr. President’s policy directives of setting aside USD200m to deepen the Entertainment Industry compliance with that policy directive, the Bank developed the operating capacity building guidelines for funding intervention and disbursed huge loans to various beneficiaries/clients in the industry for different value-chain activities.

As ED, Capital Markets, Financial Advisory, Research and Strategy, Afribank Capital LTD, he facilitated and executed several Debt & Equity deals; capital-raising exercises for private companies as well as Public Issues for public companies and government agencies, including those seeking quotation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

On resumption as Head of the Capital Markets Division, he invigorated the Capital Market Group, which was experiencing severe dearth of mandates and/or transactions resulting in the Bank’s poor performance as an Issuing House. He devised a more focused strategy and marketing approach and was
able to source and execute 11 quality public offers and raised over N100.4 billion, which represented 98.33% of the total funds raised by the Bank in the capital market since its inception in 1990.

He was the only board member spared by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, following the takeover and dissolution of the Board of Directors of Lobi Bank in September 1995, and subsequently on the reconstitution of the Board of Directors of the Bank in September 1995, the CBN appointed him as the Executive Chairman of that Board.

He was appointed the managing director, chief executive officer of Lobi Bank in April 1995; prior to his position in the Bank as the Assistant General Manager (AGM) in charge of Northern/Southern operations and Head of Banking Operations from January 1994 to March 1995.

He was the general manager/CEO Pace Mortgage Finance Limited from 1992-1993 and was responsible for directing development of the company in meeting established targets such as strategy  and policy formulation, business development and high performance team building.

He also set up the Operational Procedures and Control Manual for Treasury Operations for the bank.

He was a pioneer staff, Head of Domestic & International Treasury Department, Credite Bank of Nigeria Limited 1999-1991.

He was the MO/CEO Fintrac Consulting LTD. 2016 to date

As MD of Fintrac Consulting, Roberts combines executive leadership experience, strong commercial knowledge and analytical skills in ensuring that clients receive optimal value. He provides management consulting, investment advisory, PPP advisory to organizations, state governments and federal parastatals.

-July 28, 2021 @ 17:24 GMT|

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