By Zika Bobby
It was all fun last week in Lagos when senior special assistant to Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on community development, Dr. Charles Olisa, and other family members from Aboh, the headquarters of Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State, received one of their own from the United Kingdom in a grand family reunion, Sir Ken Aphunezi Olisa, an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) and the Chairman of Interswitch Limited.
According to the governor’s aide, Sir Aphunezi, who is a Lord Lieutinant of Greater London and chairman of Interswitch Ltd, was meeting the Olisas for the first time on Nigerian soil.
“For the family and the entire Aboh Kingdom, it was good news to have one of our illustrious sons back home,” he said.
Olisa, a human and community development expert, noted that there were so many advantages of having Sir Aphunezi in Nigeria, adding that such a visit would definitely attract direct foreign investments into the state and Nigeria.
“In days ahead, the family will reel out the way forward in terms of another meeting with the Nigerian-British investor who has become a household name with his investment in Interswitch,” he said.
“Our meeting centred on strategies to forge unity, love and oneness in the family. Also, how to continue with the ideas and legacies of our late father and grandfather, who died in the United Kingdom decades ago.
“The Olisa family is a great family from Aboh Kingdom in Delta State. The family will continue to meet at different venues of our choice. Sir Aphunezi will certainly attract many foreign investments to Nigeria and this we are already discussing. He has all it takes to add value to the economic growth and development of his fatherland,” he added.
He called on the Federal Government to provide an environment that would enable foreign investments to thrive.
The Interswitch boss, in his remarks, expressed joy at reuniting with his extended family for the first time and also promised a great time ahead for the Olisas and the entire Aboh Kingdom.
At the grand reception of the patriarch of the Olisa family were Nnamdi Olisa and Ikechukwu Ossai, among others.