Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas : Profile In Outstanding Leadership

October 31, 2026

No Comments

Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, FCA, FCTI, MBA, is a seasoned Chartered Accountant, Business Consultant and Entrepreneur with interests in Hotels and Hospitality, Business Consulting, Financial Services, Commodities Trading, Mining and Exploration and Computer & Telecommunications. A public servant with over 32 years of professional experience, he is currently the Senator representing Delta South Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate, where he serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content. With a career defined by professional excellence, institutional reform, and a commitment to economic development, he brings a wealth of private-sector experience and public-sector leadership to national governance. From his contributions to revenue administration in Delta State to his legislative responsibilities at the federal level, Senator Thomas continues to apply his expertise in finance, enterprise, and public policy to advancing development and strengthening opportunities for his constituents and the nation.

Education

Thomas Joel-Onowakpo began his educational journey at the State Primary School, Obrigbene in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State from 1974 to 1979. Thereafter, he proceeded to Government Secondary School, Ekeremor, Bayelsa State from 1979 to 1982 for his secondary school education, which he completed at Emede Grammar School, Emede in Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State from 1982 to 1984. After the completion of his secondary education, Thomas started his professional journey in Accounting under The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in 1990, where he became an Associate and Fellow Chartered Accountant respectively.

Thomas holds an MBA degree with a specialty in Technology Management from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria (1997 to 1999). He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he studied Public Leadership in 2017. He has attended numerous professional and leadership programs in various countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada among others. Some of the recent courses include Senior Executive Fellow, Senior Managers in Government (SMG), Comparative Tax Policy and Administration (COMTAX), Strategic Change & Performance Management and Leadership among others. He is also a graduate of the National Tax Training School in the United States, which qualifies him to practice as Tax Consultant. He is a distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) since 2001. He is also a respected Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

Career and Professional Life

Senator Thomas started his career from very humble beginnings as a Sales Boy, Cashier and Accounts Officer in two small private businesses. In his drive to achieve more significance in his career, he prepared for professional accounting certification and successfully acquired a qualified chartered accountant status to practice in Nigeria. He subsequently joined and trained in Onothome Ofo Thirlwell & Co., a professional accounting and consultancy outfit which for eight years under his leadership won the prestigious Nigerian Stock Exchange Merit Award for quality audit reporting and depth of information provided in annual accounts. In Onothome Ofo Thirlwell & Co., he rose through the ranks to eventually become a Senior Partner in the professional services firm.

Thomas took on bigger challenges by establishing from scratch a firm of Chartered Accountants and provided leadership as the Managing Partner for over 10 years. Under his leadership, the firm grew to be one of the well-recognized local accounting and audit firms and commanded respect in Lagos, Nigeria in the late 90s and till the late 2000s.

He successfully ventured into several businesses in the Hotels & Hospitality, Financial Services, Commodities Trading, Mining and Exploration and Computer & Telecommunications industries. His hotel chain, which has been quite successful, has five operational locations: in Lagos, Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

Public Sector Experience

Thomas believes in grassroots governance and development and was at one time the Executive Chairman (Mayor) of Isoko South Local Government Council of Delta State, (2007-2008), where he was able to demonstrate astute leadership and executive capabilities. In this endeavor, he attracted recognition from both the State and Federal Government agencies.

In recognition of his career successes and the positive impact demonstrated in his previous roles in both the private and public sectors, he was invited to join the political administration of the then Delta State Government of Nigeria as the Executive Chairman (2009-2015) of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR), where he was charged with the responsibility of reforming the State’s Revenue Board, the agency responsible for administering State Taxes to over 5 million strong population of Delta State in Nigeria.

During his tenure, he was able to grow the internally generated revenue of the State Government from =N=12B (2009) to =N=65B (2013) per annum. He also embarked on accelerated development of the decayed infrastructure by building 21 offices of the Board including the Headquarters in Warri and Headquarter annex in Asaba. The Delta State Board of Internal Revenue was also at the forefront of the implementation of the State Government’s vision of a “Delta Beyond Oil” where the State’s dependence on revenue from its abundant oil and gas resources was to be significantly reduced.

As a result of his impressive performance in Office, he was granted a second tenure as the Executive Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue. In addition to this, he was a member (2009-2015) of the Delta State Economic Council, which had responsibility for setting and overseeing the implementation of policies for the economic development of the State.

Thomas in his role as the Executive Chairman of the Delta Board of Internal Revenue championed the modernization of the organization, with a vision of transforming it into the most technologyenabled tax administration agency in Africa.

Thomas Joel-Onowakpo, served in various committees of the Joint Tax Board (Joint Tax Board is the umbrella body for all tax administration agencies in the three tiers of Government in Nigeria) in the following capacity: Chairman of the sub-Committee of Ministerial Implementation Committee of the National Economic Council for the Review of Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act 21 T2 LFN 2004; Chairman, Appraisal & Technical Committee; Chairman Information Technology Committee; and Chairman, Finance & General-Purpose Committee of the TIN Project. Others include Member, Finance & General-Purpose Committee; Member, Education Committee; Member, Inter-Governmental Relations Committee; Member, TIN Project Steering Committee; and Member, Integrated Personnel & Payroll Information Systems Committee.

In 2016, he was invited to join the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the State Coordinator for the Federal Inland Revenue Service in charge of Rivers, Edo and Delta States to increase the non-oil revenue agenda of the Federal Government.

In July 2018, Thomas resigned from his appointment with Federal Inland Revenue Service to contest for the House of Representatives position of Isoko North & Isoko South federal constituency under the All Progressives Congress (APC). His bid was, however, unsuccessful. Hence, in 2019, he returned to his private business & professional career until 2022 when he declared for the Delta South senatorial district position under APC. He is currently the Senator representing Delta South senatorial district at the Nigerian Senate and Chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content.

Committee Membership at the Senate

Local Content – Chairman
Defence – Vice Chairman
Employment, Labour And Productivity – Vice Chairman
Agriculture Production, Services And Rural Development – Member
Agricultural Colleges And Institutions – Member
Appropriations – Member
Communications – Member
Code Of Conduct And Public Petitions – Member
Establishment And Public Services – Member
Ethics – Member
Finance – Member
Gas – Member
Housing And Urban Development – Member
INEC – Member
Information And National Orientation – Member
Lands, Housing And Urban Development – Member
Local Content – Member
Livestock Development – Member
National Security And Intelligence – Member
Navy – Member
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) – Member
Police Affairs – Member
Poverty Alleviation And Social Investment Programme – Member
Public Account – Member
Science And Technology – Member
Sustainable Development Goals (Sdgs) – Member
Steel Development – Member
Upstream Petroleum – Member

Ad-Hoc Committees

Abandoned Federal Government Project – Member
Investigate Alleged Incidences Of Corruption And Inefficiency At The Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited And The National Iron Ore Mining Company (Niomco) – Member

Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) – Member
Ways And Means – Member

Awards

Thomas is a recipient of the following awards:

MAJIDADIN KAIGAMAN KATSINA – a traditional title from His Royal Highness, Alhaji (DR) Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, CFR – Emir of Katsina
IDUDU OF EMEDE KINGDOM – a traditional title from His Royal Majesty, Johnson Egbo, Ewhiri II – Ovie of Emede Kingdom.
OLODI OF AVIARA KINGDOM – a traditional title from His Royal Majesty, Michael Efeareduo Ebobo, Imoh I – Ovie of Aviara Kingdom
IBETARIOWEI OF ANCIENT GBARAMATU KINGDOM – a traditional title from His Royal Majesty, Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketekpe, Agadagba – Pere of the Ancient Gbaramatu Kingdom.
Honorary Mayor, President of the City Baton Rouge Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA – 2017
Vocational Merit Award by ROTARY CLUB District 9140 – 2014
Listed in the Who is Who in the 21st Century for his Outstanding Contribution to the field of Accountancy and Community Development – 2003
People State and Resources Merit Award in “Development in Nigeria Merit Award” – 2004
Honoured with the esteemed Michael Okpara Leadership Prize by the Dr. Michael Okpara Foundation in recognition of his commitment to quality representation and dedicated service to Delta South Senatorial District and the nation – 22^nd August, 2024.
Award of Recognition by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Southern Zonal District on for his outstanding contributions to the growth of ICAN Southern Zonal District and his commitment to the advancement of accounting profession in the Nigeria – 23^rd August, 2024.

He has at various times served the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in different leadership capacities such as Membership and Professional Conduct Committee and the Building Committee. As part of his contribution to his accounting and tax profession, Thomas has facilitated various seminars and programs.

He is also a member of the following professional bodies:

Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) ……………………… Fellow
Institute Of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)…………………… Fellow
Association Of Chartered System Accountants (ACSC) USA …………. Fellow
Association Of Computing Machinery USA (ACM) …………………… Adviser
IIC Forensic Investigation Professional (CFIP) ………………………… Member
Chartered Institute of Finance and Control of Nigeria…………………… Fellow
Institute Of Corporate Administration ………………………………….. Fellow

Thomas is a strong proponent of sustainable human development and believes in supporting disadvantaged groups in society. In line with this, he currently functions as the President of the Board of Trustees of Joseph Onothome Ofo Educational Foundation – An outfit designed to award scholarships to brilliant students. He is also the Patron of Ithihikpebe Campaign Organization – A non-profit organization pioneering the struggle for civil rights, economic and educational empowerment. He is the Chairman, Board of Trustees of Elomaz Foundation.

In addition to English, Thomas speaks four local languages (Isoko, Urhobo, Ijaw and Yoruba) at various levels of understanding. He enjoys traveling, meeting people, and listening to music.

It is in recognition of his Sterling Accomplishments in Politics and Leadership (Legislative Service) in Nigeria that Distinguished Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas is deemed worthy to be conferred with the Nigerian Achievement Award.