Profile of MRS. IRENE DIGITEMIE OPUENE, DEPUTY GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (PDM)

Profile of MRS. IRENE DIGITEMIE OPUENE
DEPUTY GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT (PDM)

Mrs. Irene Digitemie Opuene was born on the6th February 1960 at Minibie-Akassa  in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

She attended St. Matthews School, Egwema in Brass LGA of Bayelsa State from 1966 to 1972 for her First School Leaving Certificate and later proceeded to the Government Girls Secondary School, Bassambiri - Nembe for her West African School Certificate in 1977.  From 1979 to 1980 she was at St. John's College, Port Harcourt for her Teachers' Grade II Certificate and subsequently proceeded to the Rivers State College of Education, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt where she obtained her National Certificate of Education (NCE) Mathematics/Economics in 1984.

A lover of education, Mrs. Irene Opuene also attended the University of Port Harcourt from 1987 to 1991 where she obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) (Education) degree in Mathematics in 1991. Not done yet with her studies, she was admitted to the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt where she obtained an MBA degree in Banking and Finance in 1997.

An erudite, patriotic, hardworking and very dedicated woman, Mrs. Irene Digitemie Opuene started her working career as a Classroom Teacher at St. Luke's School, Nembe, Bayelsa State in 1980 and was posted in 1985 to Government Girls Secondary School, Nembe. She was there from 1985 to 1992 when she was transferred to Baptist High School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

On the creation of Bayelsa State in 1996, she moved to St. Judes Girls Secondary School, Amarata – Yenagoa and was in 1997 appointed Principal of Government Girls Secondary School, Nembe.

In 1999, at the advent of the forth republic, Mrs. Irene Opuene was appointed a Principal Legislative Officer at the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Yenagoa. During this period, she was the Chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Bayelsa State House of Assembly Branch.

In 2001, Mrs. Opuene was posted to the Bayelsa State Liaison Office, Lagos as the Liaison Officer during the tenure of late Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha where she distinguished herself as a true representative of the Bayelsa people in the cosmopolitan city of Lagos.

In 2004, she was reposted to Yenagoa as the Chief Administrative Officer in the Governor's Office, Yenagoa and served as Secretary of the Public Service Pensions Board, Yenagoa. From 2005 and 2007, she was the Acting Permanent Secretary, Establishment, Training and Pensions Bureau, Yenagoa and later served as Secretary, Public Service Board from 2007 to 2010.

An experienced, honest, committed and hardworking civil servant, Mrs. Opuene was posted to the seat of power in the State as the Principal Secretary, Government House, Yenagoa and served from May 2010 to March 2012. She was afterwards, reposted to the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure till September 2013 when she was posted to the nation's capital Abuja as the Director of the Bayelsa State Liaison Office (Bayelsa House) Abuja. She is now retired from the Bayelsa State Civil Service.

A Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (MNIM) since 2003, she has attended several courses, workshops and seminars in course of her long and successful career in the civil service. Some of these include Legislative Practice Procedure (1998); Workshop on Fire Prevention Management and Awareness for Civil Servants (1998); National Seminar on uncovering and preventing Fraud in Management and Pension Payroll and Wages (2005); Workshop on Government Policy and Reform Policy (2005); Workshop on Capacity Building for Senior Administrative Management Staff in the Civil Service(2006); Workshop on Contributory Pension Reform (2006) and Workshop on Information Security (2006) among others.

Early this year, Mrs. Irene Digitemie Opuene ran for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the Peoples Democratic Party primary elections that produced Senator Ben Bruce as the candidate and subsequent election as Senator for Bayelsa East Senatorial District. She is now the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the Peoples' Democratic Movement (PDM) for the December 2015 Governorship elections in Bayelsa State which has Moses Siloko Siasia, the young, pragmatic, hardworking, focused and successful entrepreneur as the flag bearer.

A strong believer in Christ, she has, over the years, committed herself to the service of God, her State, Bayelsa and humanity in general.  She is happily married with children.