AT 61, His Excellency, Sir Monday Onyeme, Deputy Governor of Delta State, is a fulfilled man by all standards. Despite a robust academic resume, high-profile workplace and professional accomplishments spanning several decades, capped with his extant status as the number two citizen of Delta State, he has remained an epitome of humility, kindliness and philanthropy, who has dedicated his life to serving humanity. He is a man who derives joy in putting smiles on the faces of people and joy in their hearts, particularly the indigent.
Considering his outstanding accomplishments, especially his exploits in fiscal engineering, he can best be described as a phenom in pecuniary matters. Little wonder he was engaged by the Delta State Government as Chief Tax Collector for an unbroken period of eight years (2015-2023), during which time he brought his vast experience in both the public and private sectors to bear in recommending policies that led to increased State revenue, economic activities, income and wealth creation.
Born on March 30, 1965, at Ibabu, OnichaUkwuani in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, Sir Onyeme, who holds the prestigious traditional title of Odoziani 1 of Ibabu Kingdom, has an interesting educational trajectory. He attended Army Children School, Sokoto, in the present-day Sokoto State, where he obtained the First School Leaving Certificate.
Thereafter, he proceeded to Government Secondary School, Gummi, Kebbi State, for his Secondary education (1977-1982). Following his excellent grades at the West Africa School Certificate Examination, he was admitted to study Accountancy at Federal Polytechnic, Kaura-Namoda in Zamfara State, where he obtained a National Diploma with distinction before proceeding to the University of Calabar, where, in 1990, he bagged a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc.) in Accounting with a Second Class (Upper Division).
Three years later, he became a Chartered Accountant. His drive for further knowledge acquisition took him to Northumbria University in the United Kingdom (UK), where he was awarded a certificate in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The Northumbria University later awarded him a Master’s Degree in Business Management in addition to a well-deserved commendation by the same university.
Sir Onyeme also has in his kitty many years of robust professional work experience, garnered from both the private and public sectors. He had a short stint as Assistant Lecturer at Federal Polytechnic, KauraNamoda, Zamfara State, from October 1991 to January 1992, before joining the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), where he worked in the Audit Department between February 1992 and August 1993.
Between September 1993 and June 1995, he was the Senior Executive Assistant (Audit) at Commercial Trust Bank, Lagos. Between July 1995 and June 1996, he served as Chief Accountant at Octopus Continental Enterprises, Lagos. From July 1996 to October 2000, he was Head, Finance and Supplies at the National Agriculture Land Development Authority, Asaba.
In November 2005, he joined Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba as Bursar, a job he held till September, 2006 when he was appointed as Bursar of the National Open University (NOUN).
In the course of his professional career, Sir Onyeme attended several trainings and career development programmes where he networked and interfaced with other professionals in his field from across the globe, including Dubai, Sudan, Florida, Texas, London, Oxford, Mauritius, Paris, South Africa, India, to name just a few.
Sir Onyeme has various publications to his credit, most outstanding among them being a research endeavour titled “Corporate Environmental Accounting and Reporting in the United Kingdom: A Survey of Selected Companies in Cumbria (2004)’’
He holds membership of myriad professional bodies, among which are the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. His theocratic accolades include the Knighthood of Saint Christopher (KSC) of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) as well as a Noble Knight.
Sir Monday Onyeme was appointed Chairman, Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR) from September 30, 2015, to September 30, 2019. As a result of his demonstrated capacity to significantly increase the State’s internally generated revenue to a salutary level, coupled with his commitment to excellent service delivery, workplace culture, and administrative finesse, he was reappointed by the Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr.) IfeanyiOkowa for a second tenure as Chairman, Delta State Internal Revenue Service (DSIRS).
Sir Onyeme, a renowned member of the Lions Club who has served as Governor of District 404A1 (July 2018 and July 2019), is an unrepentant philanthropist and scholarship giver. Through the Monday Onyeme Foundation Scholarship Scheme, he has donated thousands of books and other educational materials to schools and also offered scholarships to many students in higher institutions.
When asked recently, the driving force behind the yearly increase in the number and value of scholarship awards undertaken by the Monday Onyeme Foundation, he stated that although he was very intelligent while growing up, he came from a poor background, and if not for the scholarship opportunity extended to him, he probably would not have had the chance to acquire a formal education. This inspired him to start giving scholarships to students so that poverty does not deprive the intelligent ones who have the zeal for education from achieving their dreams.
Monday Onyeme Foundation scholarship award initiative started in 2015 when he offered scholarships to many students from his paternal and maternal communities. He later expanded it to include all the Wards in his Local Government Area, Ndokwa West. As time went by, he extended the gesture to students in the whole of Ndokwa/Ukwani Federal constituency (three LGAs). The scholarship opportunity has since been extended to all nine (9) Local Government Areas in the Delta North Senatorial District (Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North-East, Ika South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili North, Oshimili South and Ukwuani). Over 2,500 students have so far benefited from the scholarship scheme.
In the 2025 edition, successful students received between N200,000 and N600,000. Sir Onyeme has vowed that through this scheme, no student in Delta State, especially Delta North, will drop out of school on account of financial difficulty. He has promised to further extend the gesture to all the 25 LGAs in the State, as God would grant him grace. It is worthy of note that the Monday Onyeme Scholarship program has been characterised by utmost transparency, a development that has made the scheme a credible one.
In the political sphere, Sir Onyeme has made commendable and rewarding inroads. His political journey came to a height when, ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on June 2, 2022, nominated him as its Deputy Governorship candidate and running mate to the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori in Delta State, and on March 18, 2023, Rt. Hon. Oborevwori polled 360, 234 votes in the governorship election to emerge victorious, making Sir Onyeme the Deputy Governor-elect of Delta State.
Since May 29, 2023, when Sir Onyeme subscribed to relevant oaths of office as the Deputy Governor of Delta State, he has remained a dependable ally to His Excellency, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
Sir Onyeme, a prudent, respectful, silent achiever and selfless individual, is married with five children. Beyond his fluency in the English language, Sir Onyeme is also rooted in his Ukwuani heritage and tolerant of the diverse cultures of Nigeria, exemplified in his mastery of the Igbo and Hausa languages.
