Meet Tegbe, the man who missed Oyo governorship, now Special Envoy on Nigeria-China Affairs

By Olaolu Bilau in Abuja

When the Presidency announced Mr Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as the Director-General and Global Liaison for the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, those who know his background
as a strategic advisor to many global Fortune 500 businesses and subnational governments in Nigeria, were elated and applauded President Bola Tinubu for the well-deserved appointment.

However, what may not be known to many is that the newly appointed Nigeria-China Affairs Envoy, is not only a technocrat but also a consummate politician. In fact, he narrowly missed the chance to become governor a few years back.

Popularly called Tegbe within political circles, the 1988 first-class, civil engineering graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, came to limelight in the build up to the 2019 general elections, when he sought to succeed the late ex-governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, whose tenure as governor was coming to an end.

After joining the governorship race, Engineer Tegbe obtained the governorship form, launching a well-funded and sophisticated intra-party campaign among all the governorship aspirants in Oyo APC at the time.

His campaign was so popular that all indications pointed to the fact that among all the APC governorship hopefuls, he was the most-preferred by governor Ajimobi.

However, in less than 24 hours to the Oyo State APC governorship primary in Ibadan, fate dealt the former senior partner and head of advisory services at KPMG in Africa, a huge political blow.

Following intense discussions between the late ex-governor Ajimobi and some elders of Ibadan, Engineer Tegbe’s name was suddenly dropped at the last minute, as the anointed aspirant. His name was immediately replaced by that of the current Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who was also in race and who emerged the flag bearer of the party in 2019.

However, Adelabu eventually lost the contest to incumbent governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.

Surprisingly, Engineer Tegbe took the fallout of the 2019 guber race in Oyo with equanimity. He never engaged in any form of name-calling or blame game.

However, he was not done yet. He went back to the drawing board and re-emerged ahead of the build up to the 2023 general elections. Engineer Tegbe moved to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he contested for Oyo South Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections. He lost to the APC candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli.

A statement by Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, revealed that in his new capacity, Tegbe, who is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, ‘will ensure the actualisation of the agreements’ between Nigeria and China.

With vast experience working with Fortune 500 companies and advising African conglomerates on strategic planning, investment, and portfolio reviews as well as leading subnational governments, of Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Benue, and Bayelsa, in investment drives to South Africa, Denmark, China, India, Singapore, and the UAE, Tegbe as the Nigeria-China Affairs Envoy, is well suited to ensure that Nigeria benefits from President Xi Jinping’s 360 billion yuan, about $51 billion pledge, in new financing to African nations.