Today, Delta State — and indeed all who have had the privilege of walking this journey with him — pause to celebrate a man whose life has been a masterclass in selflessness: Deacon Ken Pela.
I do not write this as a distant admirer reciting achievements from afar. I write as someone who has stood beside this man in the trenches of political struggle, in seasons when the applause was scarce and the road was lonely.
For many years, we have worked together, and in that time, Deacon Pela has been many things to me at once — a political ally, a friend, an associate, and at moments when I needed steadying more than strategy, an elder brother and even a father, especially when my own disposition threatened to get the better of me. That kind of patience is not common. It is not taught in political manuals. It comes from a heart genuinely large enough to hold other people’s *paths* without judgment.
Deacon Ken Pela is not a man of small measure. Those who know him will tell you, without hesitation, that kindness runs through him not as a performance but as a default setting. He gives, he listens, he shows up — for causes, for people, for principles — often without expecting anything in return.
His public life bears witness to this same spirit of conviction. As the Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate for Delta State in the 2023 general elections, he stood on a platform of change at a time when doing so required real courage.
In the present political space, he planted something more enduring: he pioneered the New Delta Congress (NDC) in Delta State, a movement many hesitated to join when it was neither fashionable nor safe to do so. I remember his words to me in those early days of NDC when we had no presidential candidate as clearly as if they were spoken yesterday: “Kingsley, I’m in NDC to build and stay here.” That was not the language of a man chasing a moment. That was the language of a builder — someone planting trees under whose shade he may never sit, trusting that the work itself was worth the sacrifice. I know this man!
And when it mattered to me personally, he was there too. On the 23rd of September, 2023, during the conference where I was conferred with Fellowship status by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Deacon Pela publicly celebrated that milestone with me. It was a small gesture in the eyes of the world, perhaps, but to me it spoke volumes — because true friendship is not only forged in shared struggle, but revealed in how a man shows up for your victories. See his tweet right after:
https://x.com/KKenPela/status/1705622945823928498
Today, we celebrate more than a politician, more than a party founder, more than a public figure. We celebrate a man of many parts: builder, mentor, friend, brother, and perhaps one of the most selfless souls many of us will ever know.
Happy birthday, Deacon Ken Pela. May the years ahead be as generous to you as your heart has been to all of us.
With deep respect and gratitude,
Engr. Kingsley Okafor, FNSE, FCA
NDC, Delta North Senatorial Aspirant.
