By John Mayaki

Roughly less than a decade since he played a prominent role in an administration widely regarded as one of the best in not just Edo State but across Nigeria for its transformational achievements, Hon. Larry Aghedo has attained the pinnacle of academic achievement, once again underlining his outstanding intelligence and determined quest for excellence.

 He is to now be addressed as Dr. Larry Aghedo, having joined the elite class of intellectuals with a doctorate’s degree from the prestigious Benson Idahosa University, rising above everyone else to finish as the best graduating student. He was neither satiated by the tall achievements of his service to Edo State in the Oshiomhole-administration nor emptied of his enthusiasm for knowledge and self-improvement by the rigors of the work. When it came to an end in 2016, he rolled his sleeves, returned to the classroom and has now emerged from it with a Ph.D. in Economics, succeeding in climbing the last rung of the academic ladder.

Few are surprised. Dr. Larry Aghedo has always displayed an ambitious and hardworking spirit. A goal-setter and getter, relentlessly pushing forward in pursuit of a new quest regardless of the height and scale of previous achievements. This was evident in 1998 when he began his banking career at Magnum Trust Bank Plc in the profit center unit. There he contributed significantly to the profitability and successful take-off of his branch, among other achievements. He was also responsible for the creation and management of risk assets and the generation of tenured and low-cost liabilities, a function critical to the overall positive performance and book-balancing of any financial institution.

He joined Intercontinental Bank Plc in 2001 as the head of Relationship Management, then gathering renown in the sector as a competent manager with painstaking attention to detail. Here he ensured commitment to internal standards and policies across departments, segmented customer base using pioneering research and crafted plans and products to cater to unique needs, handled presentations that made broad reviews possible, and anchored knowledge sharing sessions to consistently increase industry knowledge level amongst staff and build a cohesive unit moving at a similar pace towards set goals.

From Intercontinental Bank he joined Skye Bank Plc in 2006 as Business Development Manager where he was saddled with the responsibility of managing branch assets, liabilities, and general affairs of his branch. So adept was he at this role that he was selected as a member of the Idea Generation Committee of the bank, joining eleven other senior managers to produce original ideas focused on improving the bank’s operating processes and retaining its edge over competitors.

He left Skye Bank Plc in 2009 for Leadrein Nigeria Limited, serving as the Senior Manager of Finance and Admin. In addition to managing and coordinating the firm’s financial activities, he also supervised administrative functions, alongside the sourcing of funds for importation and logistics which was no mean feat. Under his leadership, ambitious budgets were developed and met using industry cutting edge strategies that increased his personal acclaim and foregrounded his leadership position in the sector as a highly-skilled manager of material and human resources to achieve financial and economic goals.

His service at Leadrein Nigeria Limited came to an end in the year 2013 when he was tapped by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the then Governor of Edo State, to serve the people as the State Commissioner for Budget, Planning and Economic Development.

Leaning on his wealth of experience in the private sector, Dr. Larry Aghedo introduced innovations and reforms that caused a shift in policy development, planning, revenue generation and management, and sustaining partnerships with critical local and foreign stakeholders.

Among his achievements, many of which form the core of operations in the state to date, include the facilitation of the passage of the Edo State Statistics Bill into law, publication of the Edo State Statistic Master Plan, production of Edo State Budget Manual, co-ordination of the EU, UNICEF and other donor assisted programmes/projects in Edo State.

The management of state resources is a delicate, balancing act of chaperoning competing priorities and interests. No government has enough to solve all the problems of its people in one single stroke. This gives birth to a challenge that makes or mar every administration: the smart allocation of resources in the most impactful and regenerative way. The towering success of the Oshiomhole-administration in this regard was down, in significant part, to the talent and brilliance of Dr. Larry Aghedo.

He was a member of an elite team in the history of governance in Edo State, and has now joined another elite class of intellectuals and academicians contributing originally to the country’s knowledge bank. What started with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Calabar and an MBA from the Lagos State University has reached its zenith with a Ph.D. from Benson Idahosa University where he also bagged a Master’s Degree in Banking and Finance. It bears repeating that he emerged as the best graduating student, earning a special prize from the institution. It is a story of top-notch brilliance and dedication.

Yet we know, assuredly, that more is to come from Dr. Larry Aghedo. This beautiful poem has many more stanzas left to go.

Mayaki is a Journalist, Historian, Diplomat, Archivist, Documentalist, Communication, Culture and Media expert (Coventry University, England). He’s also an Oxford and Cambridge University-trained entrepreneurship, leadership and sustainability expert. A Professional Consultant on Communication, Management and Strategy (Chattered Management Institute, England).