Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson on Thursday appointed
the Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment Barr. Kemela Okara as
the new Secretary to the State Government.
Okara who hails from Bumoundi in Ekpetiama Clan of Yenagoa Local
Government Area holds an LLB degree with Honours from the University of
Middlesex, London and he is a member of the Honourable Society of Gray’s
Inn, London, England having been called to the English Bar in 1989.
He was also called to the Nigerian Bar in December 1989 and was one of
the founding partners of Streamsowers & Köhn, a major commercial law firm
located in the heart of Victoria Island, Lagos, with branch offices in
Abuja and Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Okara served as Commissioner for Trade, Industry and Investment from
from April 2014 to February 2016 and was re-appointed to the same
portfolio on April 13, 2016 after the re-election of Gov. Dickson for a
second term.
He was responsible for developing the Bayelsa State Industrialization
Policy, designing the masterplan for the State Eco-Industrial Park, the
masterplan for the State Power Generation Hub as well as providing
conducive trading infrastructure, and developing the strategic plan for
viable inward investment into Bayelsa State.
Okara also organized the inaugural edition of the Bayelsa State Investment
and Economic Forum in 2014.
Known for his impeccable integrity, Okara oversaw the CBN MSME funding for
Bayelsa State providing single digit interest rate financing for the MSME
sector.
Prior to his appointment as Commissioner in 2014 he was a Trustee of
Freedom Foundation and a Director in King Solomon’s Micro Finance Bank
Limited, a faith based initiatives actively involved in providing
rehabilitation, education and empowerment to the disadvantaged in Lagos.
The new scribe of the Bayelsa State Government is also a Trustee of This
Present House church, in Lagos while in the Niger Delta area, he
instituted the Kemela Okara Foundation to provide scholarship to indigent
students and the Firi Ke Ebi Initiative to provide Vocational and
Entrepreneurial training to young unemployed men and women in Bayelsa
State.
Okara previously chaired the board of Arc Lights Limited holders of the
LEGO Franchise for West Africa and parts of North Africa.