The former Managing Director of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum company Limited, responsible for managing Government’s investment in the Upstream sector of the Oil & Gas Industry, Dr Bala Wunti is a gold fish, despite his very reserved nature. He is not loud, very unassuming, but his accomplishments, too visible to ignore, announce him wherever he goes.
As political activities for 2027 gather momentum, he is gradually becoming a beautiful bride being wooed by the major political parties with clout and influence from his state of Bauchi to join them. He has served the nation in the oil sector as a thorough-bred oil and gas professional.Now the clarion call seems to be ‘come and serve us as you served the nation in Abuja.’Ordinarily, he would be contented to serve his people in any capacity, but the pressure seems to be ‘we want you as the number one citizen of Bauchi State’.The people are mounting pressure on him across the state to throw his hat into the ring and run for the governorship of the state.
The pressure for him to run for the governorship of the state is enormous and investigations reveal a man wholeheartedly loved by his people. As in politics, the pressure will always be there, if the people see you as a good man with a heart for them. But the choice is his whether to accept the Clarion call like the people of Macedonia called out unto Apostle Paul to come over to Macedonia and help them.The people want Wunti to accept their call to serve them,
Though he may not have decided on joining the race, but the political temperature in the state needs a thorough-bred professional with wide contacts to continue to build the state from where past governors stopped. For a man honoured as one of the 100 Most Recognised Africans by respected Reputation Poll International, Bauchi State can only dream big and expect nothing, but for him to press his button of wide range of contacts cultivated over the years to come handy in transforming the state into the pacesetter in the North East geo-political zone as a starting point.
After a successful career in the oil and gas sector where he rose through the ranks to occupy several key and sensitive positions within the NNPCL, he now has the time and requisite knowledge and experience to try his luck in politics. The good thing about his likely foray into politics is the peoples love for him which is overwhelming.This love is borne out of his keeping touch with his roots, even while he was on national assignment. He never behaved like those who forget their roots when they rise in life or occupy big offices and houses in Abuja.
It is against this backdrop that Bala Wunti is like the beautiful bride, loved by everyone, desired by everyone and wanted by everyone because the people know his value, the people know him as a man, who remained connected to them, despite being miles away from home. He was in Abuja but his heart was beating after his people, and most importantly,he rendered services the little way he could to his people. The political parties know the political capital he will bring to their fold, if he joins any of them, and so are desperately wooing him.
Most importantly, the former MD of NAPIMS was not one given to distracting the government of the state because of his closeness to the powers that be in Abuja. He rather had good words and encouragement for the state governors because he recognised that leadership demands so much, and God puts people in positions per time and so was contented with where he found himself at every opportuned time.
Bala Wunti’s story is one of grass to grace. He knew hardship, pain, deprivation and never gave up and God at the appropriate time elevated him, and he had in all ramifications remained grateful to God. As a token of appreciation to God for the privilege of reaching the height he has attained in life, against all odds, he founded the Wunti Al-Khair Foundation through which he has impacted thousands of people in the state through scholarships, empowerment, medical assistance, giving hope to many indigent people, who share his background, with reports saying about 5000 people from the state got employed at both the Federal and State civil service through his assistance.
Bala was born on August 8, 1966, in Bauchi State, Nigeria. His background was rough and pitiable as he lost both parents at a young age, but never gave in to organising pity party for himself or found solace in the paralysis of analysis over his background. With faith in God, young Bala demonstrated enviable resilience and determination to succeed and to God be the glory, he succeeded.
He started his academic journey from Nasarawa Primary School in 1973 and continued at Government Secondary School (GSS) Toro from 1979. Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, was his next point of call for his tertiary education, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1984, and then followed it up with a Master’s degree, an MBA in Marketing from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi.
For a child whose parents died at an early age, where most people would not even have see the walls of a school, let alone a tertiary institution, braving it from primary school to University, was a remarkable feat, and signpost the great future ahead of him. After completing his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program in 1989, he started his professional career from the role of Assistant Manager, overseeing chemical import and export operations at Doma Chemical in Lagos, and later joined NNPC Limited (formerly Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) in 1992 from where he made a name for himself through dint of hard work and desire to excel.
Bala has occupied some very key and sensitive positions that had undoubtedly prepared him for the challenges of leadership and could become handy, if he decides to run for the governorship of the state or any other position in the forthcoming political dispensation.
The positions include:
– Refinery Process Operator Trainee (On-the-Job Training) at the Production Department, Port Harcourt (1992-1994)
– Production Programming Officer at the PPOC Department, EPCL, Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State (1994-1998)
– Head of Market Research at Brass LNG Limited (2004-2010)
– Technical Assistance to the Group Managing Director at NNPC (2010-2014)
– General Manager, NNPC Efficiency Unit (2015-2016)
– Group General Manager, NNPC Corporate Planning and Strategy (2017-2019)
– Managing Director, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) (2019-2020)
– Group General Manager (GGM), NAPIMS (2020-2022)
– Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NUIMS (CUIO) (2022-2024)
– Chief Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Officer (2024-2025).
For a man with this rich resume and skill sets, in addition to his wide range of contacts across Africa and beyond, Bauchi can only pray to have him as their number one citizen to strengthen the foundation and good works already done by successive governors of the state, and rightly position the state to compete with the best in the country.
Who wins the battle for the hand of the beautiful bride of Bauchi Governorship race as 2027 knocks on the door? .
