Pius Alile Idele was born about five decades ago in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. He began his education at the Olua Primary School in Benin where he obtained his first school leaving certificate in 1976. From there, he proceeded to Adolo College where he studied between 1982 and 1987 and finished with the WAEC/GCE certificate.
He was admitted to study at the prestigious University of Benin where he first bagged a Diploma in Social Work (DSW) in 1996. Subsequently, he applied through the direct entry process to study law at the same institution between 1998 and 2002 as he conceived the legal profession as a tool and means to protect the rights of the vulnerable, deepen the rule of law, and promote social justice.
He left Nigeria for Sweden in 2002 to continue his quest for education, starting a family in the process as a young man brimming with ideas and passion to change society for good. Pius Alile obtained another degree from the Malmo University in Sweden in the social sciences before heading to the Latrobe University in Australia through an exchange program to study and obtain a Master’s degree also in Social Sciences with a major in International Migration, Ethnic Relation and Cultural Studies.
He has attended several professional courses in human development and capacity building, notably at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He is presently registered with the same university for a Ph.D. program in Comparative Social Work practices although it has been placed on hold in light of other immediate pursuits.
Professional/Work Experience
Pius Alile has garnered decades of experience – both international and local, private and public – in the field of social work and human development. At different firms, both public and private, he has, through his academic qualifications and brilliance, helped to design frameworks used in assessing the needs of the vulnerable in the society, as well as the smart deployment of resources to address those needs and maximize impact. Through his work, many disadvantaged communities gained access to aids and resources that they desperately needed. Members of minority groups and low-income families were also able to achieve social mobility through interventions led by Pius Alile that connected them with opportunities, including jobs and care tailored to their peculiar needs.
In the course of his professional career, Pius Alile displayed a supreme understanding of the workings of society and the intricacies of resource distribution and interventions to even access to opportunities and reduce social inequality; he is a proven social organizer with effective mobilization skills, as well as a powerful advocate for social justice and the eradication of systemic poverty and all forms of social discrimination.
He worked with the Newcastle City Council between 2007 and 2009 as a social worker carrying out assessments of needs for vulnerable adults for the local authority. His competence and successes on the job earned him an offer at the Birmingham City Council where he went to work as a Senior Social Worker before he was later promoted to the position of a Senior Practitioner in the Adults Service of the Birmingham City Council between 2009 and 2012.
He left the statutory sector and started his own company in 2013. He presently serves as the Director of Living Glory Social Care Limited, a social care company based in Birmingham. This care company has provided care and employment opportunities to residents in West Midlands, United Kingdom.
Political Experience
Driven by a desire to improve social outcomes for the underprivileged and vulnerable – and with a strong understanding of the power of government to implement broad changes at a sustainable level through policies and smart resource management – Pius Alile formally joined politics at a relatively young age of 24.
He first ran for public office on the platform of the defunct NCPN/UNCP as far back as 1996/1999 when Nigeria was just heralding a new democratic dispensation following years of a military interregnum that shrunk civil society spaces and stifled democratic freedoms.
He stood as the NCPN Councillorship candidate for Ward 7, Egor Local Government Area. He got his first taste of unwholesome and underhand political practices when, on the eve of the election, he was disqualified without cause and effectively denied a chance to protest or appeal the unjust action. Pius Alile however remained in politics, motivated by the goal to use the levers of government to bring about inclusive growth, equal rights and opportunities, and the protection of the rule of law.
He participated effectively in the emergence of political parties in the transitional programs of General Abubakar Abdulsalami, the country’s last military leader before the restoration of democracy in the year 1999.
He emerged as the secretary of the Unity Club, one of the major foundational groups that formed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, particularly in Egor Local Government Area. For his commitment to the cause of democracy and clearly-articulated vision of leadership despite his relatively young age, Pius Alile was once again elected the candidate of Ward 7 in Egor Local Government Area on the platform of the PDP. He contested and won the election, making him the first elected Councilor of Ward 7 under the new democratic dispensation.
Aided by years of personal preparation and a people-focused agenda, Pius Alile Idele was outstanding as a Councilor. His tenure brought about unprecedented development to Ward 7 and strengthened the faith of the people in the new democratic dispensation. His exceptional performance, evidence of which remains obvious and relevant today, raised his profile as a prominent member of dedicated democrats with an implementable vision of progress and development.
In 2014, Pius Alile joined the All Progressives Congress but later left to join the Action Democratic Party (ADP) where he bagged the party’s ticket to contest as its candidate to represent Egor/Ikpoba Okha in the Federal House of Representatives.
He rejoined the APC alongside Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who became the party’s governorship candidate in the 2020 Edo Governorship election – an achievement Pius Alile made significant contributions to. He was instrumental in the campaign of Pastor Ize-Iyamu, serving first as the Director of Strategy before his appointment into the Edo State APC Campaign Committees as one of the important state leaders and stakeholders.
Philanthropic Contributions
Pius Alile Idele believes in the power of giving as a way to invest in the development of disadvantaged communities and offer a ladder of breakthroughs to underprivileged members of society. He considers it a civic duty and moral obligation to benefit and empower others with whatever little he has and as such, he has made giant philanthropic contributions in the course of his life.
He formed the Pius Alile Coalition Initiative which he leads as the Executive President. The initiative is a grassroots development agency based in Benin City, Edo State, through which Pius Alile offers lifelines to several communities through impactful interventions that span the provision of clean water through the sinking of boreholes, access to education through the awarding of bursaries to indigent students, and small business expansion investments through grants to market women.
His interventions have in several communities improved literacy rate, dietary options, health outcomes, and raised the household income of many families, thus empowering them to move up the social ladder and lead a more comfortable and fulfilling life.