16 Facts About Melford Okilo

Melford Obiene Okilo had a long and distinguished career as a politician in Nigeria from the start of independence in 1960 until shortly before his death in 2008.

Melford Okilo was a member of parliament and a Minister in the Nigerian First Republic.

Melford Okilo was the first elected Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria during the Nigerian Second Republic.

Melford Okilo was a member of Parliament between 1956 and 1959.

Melford Okilo played a significant role in the enactment of the Niger Delta Development Board, which sought to address problems of the neglected Niger Delta region.

Melford Okilo was Chairman of the Rivers State branch of the National Party of Nigeria, and was elected on the NPN platform as governor of Rivers States in 1979.

Melford Okilo opened the Independent Power Plant at Imiringi in Ogbia local government area, now in Bayelsa State, a major gas turbine power station.

Melford Okilo created fifty development units for the much neglected rural areas, introducing a policy where local people were given the responsibility and power to govern and develop their local communities.

Melford Okilo undertook programs to reclaim land, control erosion, construct roads and canals, and build rural housing scheme and industrial estates.

Melford Okilo was re-elected on the NPN platform in 1983, losing office when General Muhammadu Buhari took power in a military coup in December 1983.

In June 1989, Melford Okilo was a speaker at a conference on World Balance: Action to Save our Planet held in Aspen, Colorado.

Melford Okilo was dropped from the government in July 1995 as the military consolidated their power.

In January 1999, shortly before the return to democracy and while running for office, Melford Okilo was briefly detained by the outgoing military government following disturbances among the Ijaw in the Niger Delta.

Melford Okilo was elected Senator for Bayelsa East on the People's Democratic Party platform, serving from May 1999 to May 2003, but failed to be re-elected in 2003.

Melford Okilo remained a director of the University Of Science And Philosophy, and became a director of the board of Vision In Action, an institute formed in 2003 to share and communicate experience on issues of leadership, creativity, visionary and strategic thinking.

Melford Okilo died at the age of 74 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on 5 July 2008.