Henry Odein Ajumogobia

Who is Henry Odein Ajumogobia?

Henry Odein Ajumogobia was appointed Nigerian minister of Foreign Affairs on 6 April 2010, when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet. In July 2011, following a cabinet reshuffle, he was replaced by Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru.

In August 1983 Ajumogobia entered a partnership with Christopher Nonyelum Okeke, the basis for the legal firm of Ajumogobia and Okeke. Ajumogobia became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2003, and was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice for Rivers State in 2003. In this role, he began serious talks with rebel groups in the oil-producing area, including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, and in June 2007 played a key role in negotiating the release of kidnapped workers of the South Korean contracting company Daewoo.

Ajumogobia was appointed Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum in July 2007, in which position he pushed for deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry. He said that deregulation would eliminate shortages of petroleum products while saving taxpayers over N687 billion in annual subsidies.