My ‘Most Valuable Persons 2025’: No. 03 – Hon. Prince Ebitimi Amgbare 

It was on October 31, 2021 that I first met him in person. We had all gone to Lagos, precisely Habibatu Mogaji House in Ikeja to officially launch Project Tinubu 2023 Presidency. Habibatu Mogaji House located on Kafi Street, Alausa, behind Ikeja Shoprite is the house where Mr. President’s late mother, the Iyaloja-General, Alhaja Habibatu Mogaji, lived till she answered the call of her creator. It was the same house Jagaban Borgu drank from her mother’s political well of wisdom and sagacity.

Prior to the death of Mama Habibatu, the house was a Mecca of sort where market men and women in Lagos State, as well as different political gladiators would regularly converge to do their thing. This has continued till date even under the leadership of Chief (Mrs.) Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, who succeeded Mama Habibatu Mogaji as the Iyaloja-General.

The Nigeria Disapora for Asiwaju (NDA) had fixed November 1, 2021, for an event it tagged, ‘I Insist, We Insist, Nigeria Insists’. It was a programme meant to officially launch the group’s support for (now) President Tinubu’s presidency, and every state where the group had its presence was invited. So, here comes my #3 special personality of those who made 2025 a memorable year for me.

On the eve of the event, the Balyesa State contingent arrived in their 14-seater Hiace Commuter bus to the waiting hands of the Director-General, Mr. Akinmoladun Badeji and my humble self as the National Coordinator. Leading the contingent from the oil-rich Bayelsa was the 2007 gubernatorial candidate of the Action Congress (AC), the noble, giant, and demure Hon. Prince Ebitimi Amgbare.

Hon. Prince Amgbare has been a hierophant of the Tinubu school of politics for nearly 2 decades or even more. So, when he threw himself fully into the Tinubu project for 2023, it was understandable. Hon. Prince Amgbare put every fibre into the Tinubu presidential project, spending his resources. This is why today, it is not surprising he is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA).

Who is Hon. Prince Ebitimi Amgbare? My relationship with him from the NDA days went on to blossom. During the electioneering, when I was drafted as a member of the Policy, Research and Strategy Directorate of the 2023 Campaign Council, Hon. Prince Amgbare gave me a helping hand. Till today, unlike other political appointees who build walls instead of bridges once they get appointed, Hon. Prince Amgbare remains accessible. When he misses your calls, be sure he will call back. That enough should prove a point – of him as a man with a beautiful heart. No turinshi!

Hon. Prince Amgbare invited me recently for a meeting while en route Hong-Kong on an official assignment. We had a very wonderful têtê-a-têtê – from politics to other sundry issues. With somebody like Hon. Prince Amgbare on ground in Bayelsa State alongside other Progressives, Mr. President is rest assured of a massive victory in his second-term bid. Hon. Prince Amgbare is not only kindhearted, he is benignant and highly benevolent.

Dear Prince, thank you, sir, for making the outgoing year a memorable one for me. You are one of the reasons I have not lost all hope with the Nigeria political terrain. Thank you for being a pillar of support

Thank you, leader! God bless you and yours always.

OMOLUABI OMOGBOLAHAN BABAWALE (O’CZAR)