Valentine Ozigbo is a business leader, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and purposeful politician with about thirty years of experience in corporate transformation in key sectors including power, hospitality, energy, banking
(commercial, retail, investment, and international), sports and philanthropy. Valentine was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the November 2021 governorship elections in Anambra State and is now the governorship hopeful for the Labour Party in the upcoming 2025 election. During the 2023 elections, Val was the Special Adviser to Peter Obi on Technology and Strategic Alliances and also supported the fundraising for the Campaign. On June 26, 2021, Valentine won the keenly contested gubernatorial primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). His emergence as the party's flag-bearer is one of the most inspirational stories in Nigeria's recent political history.

A grassroots favourite, analysts rated him as "most likely to win the election". He came second in the general election, surpassing the PDP's previous gubernatorial election performance. A multiple-award-winning global CEO, Mr Ozigbo is the immediate past President and Group CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc
(Transcorp), one of Africa's largest conglomerates which includes Transcorp Power Plc, one of the largest power generation companies in Nigeria; Transcorp Hotels, the owners of Transcorp Hilton Abuja (the leading business
hotel in Africa) and Transcorp Hotels Calabar; and Transcorp OPL281, an oil and gas company. He stepped down from the role in March 2020 and retained his seat on the Board of Transcorp Plc, the Board of Transcorp Hotels Plc, and the Board of Transcorp Power Limited. He finally resigned from all Transcorp board positions in April 2021 as the primary elections drew near.

Mr Ozigbo was elevated to the role of President and Group CEO of Transcorp Plc after initially holding the position of Managing Director/CEO of the foremost subsidiary, Transcorp Hotels Plc for 7 years, during which he led a $100 million project that saw Transcorp Hilton Abuja undergo a globally celebrated transformation and upgrade. He won several internationally coveted awards in the hospitality industry, including the Seven Stars Luxury Hospitality CEO of the Year 2016, which he received in Spain. In October 2019, the respected business leader was voted Seven Stars Hospitality Personality of the Year in Athens, Greece. He began his career as an Executive Trainee in the banking industry. In 17 years, he attained the top position of General Manager, where he was Director of the Global Transaction Banking Division of a leading bank. His decorated career spanned NAL Merchant Bank Plc (now part of Sterling Bank

Plc), Diamond Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc), Continental Trust Bank Ltd (now part of UBA), FSB International Bank Plc (now part of Fidelity Bank Plc), United Bank for Africa Plc and Keystone Bank Limited (formerly Bank PHB) from where he was headhunted into Transcorp. An award-winning graduate, Valentine Ozigbo has an impressive track record for academic excellence. In 2024, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Public Administration by Tansian University. In 2019, Valentine was one of the pioneers in the Global CEO Program undertaken by Lagos Business School, SBS Nairobi, and IESE New York and was elected the President of the Pioneer Class. In 2003, he was awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office to study for a Master of Science in Finance at Lancaster University, UK, where he graduated with a Distinction. At its 2019 graduation ceremony, Lancaster University recognized him as a Distinguished Alumni of the Year. Valentine also holds an MBA in Banking & Finance and a B.Sc. in Accounting, both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he was the best-graduating student in his faculty, winning many prizes including those from ICAN, NDIC, and Peter Ali Ajose. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA), and the Institute of Tourism Professionals (ITP). He is also a member of the Institute of Directors (IOD) Nigeria. Valentine sits on the Board of several educational, corporate, and philanthropic
institutions.

A child of Grace and a prominent change leader who advocates for excellence in every sphere of life, Valentine Ozigbo is a leading individual promoter of sports, youth development, and community building in Nigeria. He has delivered several lectures at Convocation and other important events including those at the National Institute for Security Studies, Nigerian Army Resource Centre, University of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (where he was inducted into UNIZIK Hall of Fame), Paul University, Onitsha Business School, Tansian University, Anambra State Association USA Convention, and many more, where he makes efforts to inspire the next generation into becoming a more active, positive and impactful citizens. He is the founder of the Valentine Chineto Ozigbo (VCO) Foundation, a philanthropic endeavour that focuses on youth and women empowerment and capacity building. Since its founding in 2015, this foundation has touched over 300,000 lives and provided over N300m in grants to small businesses,

COVID intervention, talent hunts, scholarships, and support for widows and less privileged. With his foundation, he recently partnered with Decagon Institute to train about 100 Anambra youths in software engineering to facilitate their employability. He chaired Unusual Praise and Unusual Entrepreneurs, the largest Catholic gospel event in Africa, and has been part of the leadership to date. He is also the Chairman of Feet and Tricks Limited, the exclusive promoter of Freestyle Football in Africa in partnership with the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA). Recently, the WFFA appointed him to the global board as the first-ever Non-Executive Director and leader for Africa. He has remained the biggest promoter of freestyle football in Africa. He is married to Ojiugo and they have four children.