Austin Adiele Opara , (born 29 August 1963) is a Nigerian politician of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

. He was raised in

Diobu, Port Harcourt Diobu is a densely populated neighborhood of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, located within the Port Harcourt metropolis. Neighborhood Diobu is significant as the childhood residence of the former Rivers State governor Chibuike Amaechi. Other notab ...

and is of the Ikwerre tribe.

Education

Opara has a

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongsi ...

and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Marketing option from the

Rivers State University of Science and Technology Rivers State University (RVSU or RSU), formerly Rivers State University of Science and Technology (UST or RSUST), is a university located in the Diobu (Mile III) area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. As of 2021, the vice chancello ...

. He obtained his Master of Business Administration, from the same institution. In addition, he is certified in Public Financial Management and Mastering Negotiations from

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Austin Opara equally has a PhD degree in Political Marketing from Rivers State University, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Early career

Opara started as a lecturer with the Rivers State School of Basic Studies and later as Head of Purchasing Department at Horicon Dredging Nigeria Limited, Port Harcourt.

Political career

In 1999, he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, representing Port Harcourt II (federal constituency). He was reelected in 2003 and served as the deputy speaker until 2007. While at the Assembly, he served also as deputy chairman of National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, sub-chairman of House Committee on the

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Limited is a for profit oil company in Nigeria. Formerly a government-owned corporation, it was transformed from a corporation to a limited liability company in July 2022. NNPC Limited is the only entity licensed to operate in the country' ...

, member of House Committee on Petroleum, deputy chairman of House Committee on the

Niger Delta Development Commission The Niger Delta Development Commission is a federal government agency established by Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000 with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In September 2008, Preside ...

and member, House Committee on National Security and intelligence. In November 2015, Opara was appointed board chairman of the

Rivers State Microfinance Agency The Rivers State Microfinance Agency, locally referred by its abbreviation RIMA, is a government body providing a range of services including financial, business and social support to institutions such as microfinance banks and entrepreneurs who la ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opara, Austin 1963 births Living people Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party politicians People from Port Harcourt Heads of Rivers State government agencies and parastatals Rivers State University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria) from Rivers State Ikwerre people Peoples Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives (Nigeria)

Education

Early career

Political career

See also

References