Osodieme - A Brief Biography
Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano was born in Onitsha in Anambra State Nigeria. She hails from Ogbunike in Oyi LGA and is married to the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano from Aguleri in Anambra East LGA of the state referred to as Light of the Nation.
She attended Lagos Premier Day School in Lagos State and Okija Community Secondary School in Anambra State, where she obtained General Certificate of Education (GCE). She was admitted into University of Lagos where she earned a Diploma in Mass Communication. She followed it up with a Degree in History and International Studies from Lagos State University (LASU). She later obtained an Associate Degree in real Estate from Lone Star College, Houston, Texas, United States of America. She had other trainings in Human and Material Management in Nigeria, Europe and the USA.
Chief (Mrs.) Obiano has since graduation worked in many reputable institutions and corporate organizations, holding sensitive positions in the course of her career. Between November 1991 and May 2010 she worked in various capacities in National Petroleum Investment and Management Services (NAPIMS), one of the eleven subsidiaries of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as Catering Supervisor, Corporate Procurement Officer and finally the Welfare officer. She had on several occasions represented NAPIMS as material officer in France, USA and UK on Bonga Field development Project of SPDC.
Before her husband took office as Governor, the First Lady of Anambra State, Chief Mrs. Obiano had always been involved in charity programmes and helping the less privileged. She undertook church welfare projects and was a marriage counsellor among other humanitarian endeavours hence it is no surprise that as wife of the governor she set up an active NGO, the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ) in August 2014.
As founder and promoter of CAFÉ, Chief (Mrs.) Obiano is able to fulfil her life-long passion of touching lives, while the NGO also became a platform to support the governor in delivering good governance to Ndi-Anambra. Since its inception, CAFÉ has lived up to its aims & objectives and has sustained its vision of becoming a beacon of sustainable empowerment for women and the less privileged within Anambra state and beyond. CAFE’s focus is on improving the fortunes of all members of the family by providing succour to the less privileged.
Mrs. Obiano’s commitment to charitable courses never wavers, through CAFÉ she has set a new paradigm for helping the needy through the various projects and programmes she has accomplished. These include; CAFE Housing for Indigent Widows which has seen ten of the prototype 2-Bedroom bungalow built free and handed over to beneficiaries across the three Senatorial Districts of Anambra State. In the same vein, she is steadfastly constructing CAFÉ Market Toilets in rural markets to promote hygiene in rural communities.
Also Mrs. Obiano has trained and empowered over two thousand, five hundred indigent widows, women and youths in various skills under CAFÉ Skills Acquisition Training programme. These include: Hair Dressing and Beauty Therapy, Fashion Design, Soap Making, Cake Baking and Confectionery, Telephone Repairs, and Community Health Services. The beneficiaries were supported with equipment and start-up stipend.
She equally made possible free Prosthetic limbs to over a thousand physically challenged and donated free wheel chairs to many more. She also facilitated free surgeries for 30 children with congenital abnormality of Cleft lip and Cleft palate and sponsored the care, treatment and discharge of forty mentally challenged persons at a Home she setup in Nteje amongst other interventions.
Mrs. Obiano is a recipient of several awards both local and international in recognition of her commitment to charity and the welfare of the less privileged. Some of the awards include; Primetime Reporters First Lady of the Year Award 2016, Most Valuable Governors’ Wife Award 2016/2017, Excellence Award 2016 by Nigerian Women of Atlanta Georgia, United States of America, EU/UNICEF WASH Ambassador, and United Nations Peace Ambassador to mention a few.
On why she is committed to helping the needy, Mrs. Obiano said, “there is something in me that abhors seeing people in anguish. That is why I do what I do.” In another breath she stated, “Wherever and whenever life is touched, government has succeeded.”