A former Nigeria Defence Adviser to the United Nations, Maj.-Gen. Jack Ogunenwe (retired) has picked the governorship ticket of the Action Alliance (AA) party for the Nov. 11, 2023, Imo election.
Ogunenwe participated in the April 2023 Labour Party primary election which was allegedly said to have been fraudulently won by Athan Achonu who scored the highest number of votes.
Following this development, the retired General shifted the goal post to the platform of Action Alliance.
He has been unveiled by the party as its candidate for Imo governorship.
General Ogunewe’s rich academic and professional resume as well as uncanny public service experience spanning nearly four decades make him the knight in shining armour for Ndi Imo.
He is one of the most decorated Nigerian Army officers having served in the exalted capacity as Defence Adviser, Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations and Chief Policy and Plans, Nigerian Army.
Hear him: ”I am Maj.-Gen. Lincoln Keonyemere Jack Ogunewe. I am from Umudim-Akpodim in Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA. I was born on 18 May 1963 to the family of Eze (Col.) David Sunday Ogunewe, a first-generation Nigerian Army officer (N/34).
I joined the Army at the age of 17 and rose to the rank of Maj Gen and the No.2 in the Army (Chief of Policy & Plans (Army) and retired at the age of 55 in Dec 2018 after more than 38 years of service including my cadet training at the Nigerian Defence Academy.
In the course of my service in the Army, I obtained a B.Eng in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a PGD in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration (GIMPA) Accra Ghana & M.Sc in Defence & Strategic Studies from National Defence University, Islamabad Pakistan.
I also attended several military & civil courses/ programs at Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering Makurdi; Nigerian Army School of Infantry Jaji; Ghana Armed Forces Command & Staff College, Accra; Kofi Anan International Peacekeeping Institute, Accra, Ghana; West African Civil Society Institute, Accra, Ghana; Galilee International Management Institute, Israel; Havard Kennedy School, Massachusetts, USA, United Nations Training Program, Bangkok Thailand among others.
In the course of my service in the Army, I held several command, staff, intelligence & diplomatic appointments. I was the Defence Adviser, Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, New York and also a member of the Military Staff Committee that advises the United Nations Security Council on defence and security issues. I was also unanimously elected as the Dean Military & Police Adviser´s Community, New York & the first African to be so elected. I am a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers & COREN registered.
I have the requisite training, tested work experience & exposure to bring best practices in any endeavour & assignment.
I am a low-profile person who believes & is committed to the Rule of Law which places the privileged & less privileged on the same pedestal. Any society without commitment to the Rule of Law is a society that has indirectly encouraged anarchy and is bound for disaster. Society implicitly & explicitly will be encouraging the bad principle of “Anything Goes.”
I have a God-given good temperament for leadership. My greatest fans are critics because I know that it is not everyone that criticises you is an enemy & not everyone that praises you is a friend.
I believe in community development and support for the less privileged in the society. In my humble nature, I am not the one to speak about these as I don’t want to share the honour and glory with God. To Him, all honour and glory should be attributed to.
I declared my aspiration to run for the governorship of Imo State under the slogan “RESET IMO 2023”
Everything in our dear state requires resetting in order to move forward. Be it Security, Education, Civil Service, Culture, Tradition, Moral Values even our Mentality & Way of Life.”
Major General Lincoln Keonyemere Jack Ogunewe (Retired) was born on 18 May 1963 to the family of Eze (Lt. Col.) David Sunday Ogunewe and Ugoeze Stella Lucy Ogunewe.
He completed his primary school education in 1975 having attended St Cyprian’s Primary School, Umuojima, Isiala Ngwa, Abia State, and Central School Akpodim, (St. Mathias Primary School, Akpodim) Ezinihitte Mbaise, for his First School Leaving Certificate.
He then proceeded to Community Secondary School, Amuzi-Mbaise and later, Mbaise Secondary School, (MSS) Aboh-Mbaise, for his West African School Certificate (WASC). He gained admission into the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy in July 1980 as an Officer Cadet and was commissioned in December 1983 as a Second Lieutenant into the Corps of the Nigerian Army Engineers.
General Ogunewe attended many military and civil courses in Nigeria, Ghana, Thailand, Israel, Pakistan and the USA.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Degree (B.Eng) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nigeria Nsukka; a Master of Science Degree (M.Sc) in Defence and Strategic Studies from National Defence University Islamabad, Pakistan; a Diploma in National and International Security from Harvard Kennedy School USA; Diploma National Security Studies from Galilee International Management Institute Israel; Diploma in Construction Management from Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering Makurdi, Nigeria; Diploma in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration Accra, Ghana; and Diploma Nigerian Defence Academy Certificate of Education from Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna Nigeria.
He completed his Junior Staff Course from Command and Staff College Jaji, Kaduna and was awarded passed junior staff course (pjsc), Senior Staff Course from Ghana Command and Staff College Accra and awarded passed senior staff course (psc) and National Defence Course from National Defence University and awarded national defence certificate (ndc).
Though a prince of the Royal Ogunewe family in Akpodim, Ezinihitte Local Government of Imo State, this refined and revered Army General, philanthropist and now, a politician of the nobble hue is humble, unassuming and accessible.
His military background notwithstanding, General Ogunewe is not magisterial, he is a listener and people-oriented. He is not the proverbial Eze Onyeagkwala(a dictatorial king that listens to no one), the type that is currently presiding over the affairs of Imo.
In a nughtshell, what Imo need is a Governor in the cast of General Ogunewe. The Action Alliance has made a right choice of a flagbearer for the November Imo guber election.
It therefore, now behoves on all Imolites with the interest of the state at heart, to rally support for General Ogunewe and ensure he wins the November 11 election.
