By Munene Wilson,
Ace Broadcaster, Poet, Writer, Author and Chief of Staff to Barr Alabh George Turner MON, PhD.
Acting Chairman, PDP, Bayelsa State.
Today, September 3, 2025, Barrister (Dr.) Alabh George Turnah, MON, marks his 42nd birthday. But this is no ordinary birthday. It comes at a season of crowning glory, as he recently bagged a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Law from Niger Delta University (NDU); an achievement that cements his place not only as a practitioner of law and politics but also as a scholar of the highest order.
Turnah’s story is the tale of a Bayelsa son who grew from the fertile community of Kolo in Ogbia, and carried his roots with him into every corridor of power he entered. From his student days, when he held various leadership positions in the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), he showed the fire of one destined for public life. He was not content to be a spectator — he was an organiser, a mobiliser, a voice for others.
That same energy followed him into mainstream politics and governance. As Special Assistant on Youths to the Managing Director of the NDDC, he became a bridge between young people and a powerful federal institution. Later, as Executive Assistant to the Governor of Bayelsa State, he deepened his experience in statecraft, proving himself as a man who could navigate both federal and state structures with equal tact.
Within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he has been many things: Legal Adviser, Acting Secretary of the South-South Zone, National Youth Vanguard Coordinator, and today, Acting Chairman of PDP Bayelsa State while also serving as Zonal Secretary for the South-South. These roles are not mere titles — they are proofs of trust. They show that both his peers and seniors have consistently found in him a steady hand, a legal mind, and a loyal steward of the party’s ideals.
Yet Turnah’s life is not only politics. Through the Celtic Pride Group of Companies and the George Turnah Foundation, he has spread his influence into enterprise, philanthropy, education, and agriculture. His initiatives in Kolo and beyond speak of a man who remembers his beginnings and invests in the soil that produced him. He is a firm believer that the measure of leadership is not the size of one’s office, but the number of lives touched in quiet, consistent ways.
The award of the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) years ago was an early national recognition. But this year’s PhD in Law from Niger Delta University is a deeper, is more personal triumph. It is the reward of diligence, the crown of scholarship, the seal that proves that knowledge and leadership must go hand in hand. At a time when shortcuts are celebrated, George Turnah has chosen the harder path of study, research, and intellectual contribution.
At 42, he is still young by the standards of politics, yet already seasoned. He has known trials and triumphs, applause and criticism, storms and sunshine. But through it all, he has remained unbroken, still standing tall as a symbol of resilience for Bayelsa’s youth and a beacon of what is possible when persistence meets purpose.
On this birthday, Bayelsa celebrates not only a man, but an institution in the making. His journey reminds us that leadership is not a sprint, but a marathon; not a position, but a calling.
Happy 42nd Birthday, Dr. (Barr.) Alabh George Turnah, MON.
May the wisdom of scholarship guide your steps, may the grace of service enlarge your reach, and may the coming years be brighter than the path already travelled.
