Madugu writes: A rising star from Kpando: Up-Close with British Army veteran and former Bank of England executive, Mr Divine Agbeti.

The former military veteran of the British army and a top former bank executive with the Bank of England, Mr Divine Agbeti, has given the strongest indication to contest as member of parliament in the Kpando constituency.

Mr Divine Agbeti hails from Gbefi, a suburb community within the Kpando constituency. He Started his basic school at Gbefi St Peter’s L/A Primary; went on to Tsito Methodist Primary and Tsito Old JHS. He continued his senior high education in Awudome Senior High School also in Tsito.

Being the son of subsistence farmer, the London school of Economics alumnus and international relations expert had a humble beginning as a local activist, taking up teaching in basic school in his community after his secondary school education.

Mr Divine Selase Agbeti, a consummate professional with vast knowledge in sociopolitical development, with particular focus on the Kpando constituency, has in the last ten years participated and contributed immensely to the development of the National Democratic Congress the NDC. Right from his days as community mobilizer, up until his departure to the United Kingdom to serve in the British Army.

Prior to his current decision to run on the ticket of the NDC in 2024, Mr Agbeti founded the Divine Agbeti Scholarship Scheme, and Divine Agbeti Apprenticeship Programme, under the umbrella of the Divine Agbeti Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit organization based in Kpando with the basic objective to support young people in education and creation of job opportunities. The scholarship scheme has supported over 30 students from the Kpando Municipality in tertiary institutions across the country.

As part of his developmental contributions to the Kpando constituency, the Divine Agbeti Foundation deployed a grader and over 10 trips of gravel to level the Kpando-Torkor road, which was in a very bad shape and was becoming a death trap. Among others, the Foundation provided a mechanised borehole, together with a poly-tank, to Sovie New Town in the Kpando Municipality. Most recently, the Divine Agbeti Foundation donated several wheelchairs, clutches and walking supports to the disabled association within the Kpando Municipality.

On the international scene, he is a highly respected security professional, possessing operational and strategic capabilities with excellent understanding of International Relations, Politics, Global Security, Intelligence, Military Operations, and Information Security. He possesses proven competencies in research, project management, requirement gathering, stakeholder management, security risk analysis, political risk analysis, open-source intelligence, cyber risk management and public speaking. He is British Army Veteran with operational experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Agbeti read international relations in the University of Portsmouth where he obtained a first-class degree. He was awarded the overall best graduating international relations student, as well as the winner of the prize for the best dissertation by the university of Portsmouth in 2015. For his brilliance, Mr Agbeti was awarded a scholarship by the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science where he attained MSc in International Relations.

In addition to that, he was also honoured a receiver of the Queens Jubilee Medal for long service with good conduct in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces in 2012, also an ISAF Medal for distinguished service in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2010. He equally received the NATO Medal for meritorious service with NATO Task Force in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2010, and an Iraq Medal for distinguished service in Iraq, 2008.

As the NDC announces May 13th, 2023, as the official date for its internal primaries across the country in all 275 constituencies, Mr Divine Agbeti laces his boots to contest for the seat on the back of promising massive development in the Kpando constituency.