Personality in Focus
John Okelue Okpoli: Pacesetter, Pathfinder and Pioneering Expert
By Eric Elezuo
The ultimate measure of a man, they say, is not where he stands in the moment of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy. The willing man is an achiever in whatever situation he finds himself. He don’t just achieve, he creates or rather pioneers a million ways to getting things done. There are however, very few men in the universe, who have worked extremely hard to create opportunities, even from nothing, carved out veritable future for not only themselves but also for generations to come. One of such men is Delta born finance and asset management guru, Okelue John Okpoli.
Fondly called The Pioneer, John Okpoli, who is reputed to have pioneered almost everything he is involved in today ranging from academics, career, family, associations and many more, was born into the family of Dr. (Sir) Felix and Lady Dorothy Uzor Okpoli on October 6, 1978.
He started at a very young age to exhibited the featues and qualities of a gifted child, becoming a pathfinder and pace setter for his mates, contemporaries and collegues both on the home and academic fronts. His leadership abilities threw themselves to the fore, and could not be extinguished as he nurtured it step by step through to the adult he is today.
Young John kicked off his academic journey very early in life when at the age of four, he enrolled at Delta Steel Primary School, Owvian Aladja Delta State in 1982. But owing to geographical relocation because his father was a civil servant, he continued and concluded his elementary education at Iyobosa Primary School, Benin City in 1988, and obtained his First School Leaving Certificate.
John started his secondary education at Greater Tomorrow Secondary School, Benin City in 1989, but moved to Lagos thereafter and attended Ikeja High School, Ikeja where he concluded his seconadary i education in 1994. He was at the end of the day, rewarded with the prestigious West African School Certificate as he ‘cleared’ his papers in a single sitting, and with notable grades.
His exploits while at Greater Tomorrow Secondary School Benin City created a leverage for him to become a member of the Interim Executive committee of the 1994 set later in life
In 1996, John Okpoli was admitted into the University of Benin with the 1995/96 set to study Mathematics and Economics. He graduated with B.Sc honours in 2000 as a high flyer.
Being a goal getter with unquenchable zeal to acquire and sustain, and one whose focus and attention to details is second to none, Okpoli undertook a Special Executive MBA Programme at the Metropolitan School Of Business and Management in 2013. He knew what the future was going to throw at him, and he was prepared.
Highly equipped to face the harsh business environment, Okpoli began turning things around, and practically became a builder, an apostle of some sort, creating firsts and pioneering strong financial business ventures, which have stood the test of time, and are still flourishing till date. In fact, Okpoli has the proverbial Midas touch to make things happen and turn anything to gold.
As the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fundvine Asset Management Ltd, Okpoli singlehanded pioneered the setting up of all the company’s subsidiaries. He didn’t stop there. When the cruise boat of job relocation took him to AT&A as the Chief Operating Officer, Okpoli again brought his wealth of experience to bear, creating new vistas and breaking barriers. It is not by accident that the firm is today a force to reckon with.
The pioneering achiever went ahead to work with Sasware, a Signal Alliance agency as Head of Operations, and his story has bordered on performance, capacity building and expansion. He is a go-getter in its simplest term.
It is worthy of note that under his watch, Fundvine Hathaway Asset Management Ltd, rebranded and rolled out new enticing products.
Hear him: “I think I owe everything that has happened to me, and still going to happen to me to God. He has been more than kind to me, releasing in me the right words and actions at the right time.
“My success stories of pioneering ability, expansionist approach and general achievements, have remained legendary, and I hardly fail. This is the zeal and call I take to any establishment I find myself for the service of mankind.”
Among many other pioneering activities of John include but not limited to being among the pioneer set of Mathematics and Economics department of the University of Benin. He went ahead to become the pioneer president or leader of distinct associations while on campus, including Project committee, UNIBEN Mathematics Class of 99 and Emerging Leaders Network (An Intiative Of Centre Of Leadership).
A very humble person, Okpoli gives credit to God for his ‘little’ efforts so far, and to his father, Felix Okpoli, who retired as a zonal General Manager with the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). The senior Okpoli was the first product of Electrical/Electronic Engineering from Ubulu Uku in Delta State.
In the same vein, his maternal grand father Reverend S. I. Nwabuoku was the pioneer/first Anglican priest in the Anioma part of Delta State just as his uncle, Ven. (Dr) I. E. Nwabuoku was the pioneer Chief Medical Director, University of Benin Medical Centre and Vicar General, Anglican Diocese, Benin City.
Basically, pioneering ability runs in the family. It is left to the imagination what a person of John Okpoli’s Calibre can do to an establishment or best still, a political institution. He is truly an asset; a much sought after one for that matter.
Okpoli, among many secular and formal endowments, is blessed with so many professional qualifications such as:
– Project Management Institute U.K 2011
– Nigerian Institute Of Management 2002
– Institute Of Credit Administration 2004
– Institute Of Cost Management 2002
– Economics Institute 2004
He may be a man about town, hovering from one boardroom to another, yet he is an accomplished family; a beloved and cherish husband to his beautiful wife, Oberhi Mary Okpoli, a prolific lawyer and Head of Chambers of Prince M.P Ohwovoriole (SAN) in Lagos.
Between John and Oberhi are wonderful children, who are steadily following the greater heights footsteps of their parents.
Congratulations John, you deserve our personality in focus honours
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, has congratulated the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, on the occasion of his birthday, commending his visionary leadership and reform-driven approach to policing in Nigeria.
In his birthday remarks, Dr. Ogunsan described the IGP as a “distinguished officer whose career has consistently reflected professionalism, courage, and a deep commitment to public safety.”
He noted that since assuming office as the 23rd Inspector-General of Police early this Year 2026, Disu has demonstrated a clear resolve to reposition the Nigeria Police Force towards greater efficiency and public trust.
Dr. Ogunsan particularly praised the IGP’s emphasis on intelligence-led policing, a strategy aimed at enhancing proactive crime detection and prevention, as well as his push for the integration of digital tools and forensic capabilities into police operations. These reforms, he said, signal a shift towards modern, accountable, and citizen-focused policing.
He further highlighted Disu’s decisive steps to strengthen the state policing agenda and officers’ welfare. He praised him for the effective policing model through the restructuring and reduction of tactical units, a move designed to address concerns over excesses while redeploying personnel to police divisions for improved community-level security.
The LSSTF boss also acknowledged the IGP’s consistent advocacy for discipline, integrity, and professionalism within the Force, noting that such values are critical to restoring public confidence and enhancing institutional credibility.
Reflecting on his track record, Dr. Ogunsan recalled Disu’s impactful leadership roles across key commands, including the Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory Commands, where he contributed significantly to crime control and intelligence-driven operations.
His tenure as the Commander of the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos is a testament to his operational excellence and urban crime management.
Ogunsan wished the IGP good health, wisdom, and continued success in his efforts to build a more secure Nigeria. “On this special occasion, we celebrate not only a remarkable leader but a reformer whose vision continues to inspire confidence in the security architecture of our nation,” Ogunsan said.
Terrorists in northeast Nigeria killed a brigadier general in an assault on a military base, a local government chairman told AFP on Thursday, the second killing of a high-ranking officer in five months.
Africa’s most populous country has been fighting a terrorist insurgency for 17 years, since Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, which has seen the emergence of powerful splinter groups, including Islamic State West Africa Province.
In an overnight attack, unidentified terrorists killed at least 18 soldiers and torched vehicles at a base in Benisheikh, about 75 kilometres from Borno state capital Maiduguri, an intelligence source told AFP.
“Unfortunately, the brigade commander, Brigadier General O.O. Braimah, lost his life,” Kaga Local Government Chairman Zannah Lawan Ajimi told AFP in a phone interview.
Two intelligence sources confirmed Braimah’s death to AFP.
His death follows the killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba by ISWAP in November. He was the highest-ranking military official to die in the long-running conflict since 2021.
“They overran the brigade,” one of the intelligence sources said, giving the death toll as “at least” 18.
The second intelligence source said that “the terrorists killed several troops” and “burnt vehicles and buildings before they withdrew,” without giving a toll.
The army and Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
– Rising terrorist violence –
Researchers have warned of an uptick of violence since 2025.
Borno capital Maiduguri has seen two suicide bombings since December — the type of bloody, urban attacks reminiscent of the insurgency’s peak a decade ago.
On Wednesday, the US State Department said in a notice it was authorising “non-emergency US government employees” to leave Abuja “due to the deteriorating security situation”.
While the insurgency is concentrated in the northeastern countryside, terrorists from Nigeria and the neighbouring Sahel have made inroads western Nigeria, where organised crime gangs known as “bandits” have been raiding villages and extorting farmers and artisanal miners for years.
Gunmen killed at least 90 people across several remote villages in northwest Nigeria this week, according to an AFP tally of tolls given by local and humanitarian sources.
Among the attacks was an assault in Kebbi state that police blamed a local terrorist group known as Mahmuda, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Kebbi sits on Nigeria’s border with Benin and Niger and since 2025 has been targeted by a rising number of terrorist attacks.
Conflict monitor ACLED says there has been a surge in violence in the area carried out by militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
In nearby Kwara state, in October, fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM claimed an attack after years of researchers warning that the terrorist conflict ravaging the Sahel risked spreading south towards coastal West African states.
In December, the United States, with Nigerian assistance, bombed northwest Sokoto state, targeting Islamic State Sahel Province fighters usually found in neighbouring Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso.
AFP
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the 2023 Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has argued that President Bola Tinubu has no pathway to re-election in 2027.
Rhodes-Vivour, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, said data from credible polls indicate that Tinubu will not win next year’s presidential election.
“I have looked at data, we have polling that is going on now, credible polling — there is no pathway for the president to emerge victorious, that is why we are seeing all these shenanigans,” he said.
He added: “There is no pathway for him. When you look at the North that gave him 62 per cent of his votes, you see the tsunami that is happening in the North. You have a president that created a government system that is just for the city boys. It is a city boys’ government. It’s not even a proper South-West government; it’s his cronies that are just in charge.”
The Lagos politician blamed the president for the crisis affecting opposition parties, including the ADC.
According to him, having assessed that the odds are against him ahead of the 2027 polls, the president is resorting to instigating crises within opposition ranks as a strategy to retain power.
“So, the best pathway is to create an environment where he is the only candidate on the ballot for the presidency. That is what he is trying to achieve, but he is not going to succeed,” he said.
Last week, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) removed the names of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as chairman and secretary of the ADC from its portal, citing a court order to maintain the status quo.
The party has faulted INEC’s decision, alleging that the electoral body misinterpreted the court order. Since then, the ADC leadership has held a world press conference to reject the move.
Earlier on Tuesday, prominent members of the party staged a “Save Nigeria Democracy” protest at INEC headquarters in Abuja. Among those present were Peter Obi; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi; former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former President of the Senate, David Mark; former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; and former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, among others.
Hundreds of supporters, including members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, also participated in the protest.
