Femi Gbajabiamila

Early life and education

Olufemi "Femi" Hakeem Gbajabiamila was born on 25 June 1962, to Lateef Gbajabiamila and Olufunke Gbajabiamila in Lagos, Nigeria. He attended Mainland Preparatory School for elementary education and proceeded to Igbobi College in 1973, where he completed his secondary education. Subsequently, he enrolled at King William's College on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom, for his A-Level. He was accepted into the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He graduated with a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) with honours in 1983 and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1984.

He first worked for the law firm, Bentley Edu & Co. in Lagos, before establishing his own law firm, Femi Gbaja & Co. He then earned his Juris Doctor from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School in Georgia, USA, passed the Georgian bar exam in 2001, and set up a law firm in Atlanta. While in the US, he actively participated in the election of Bill Campbell who later went on to become Mayor of Atlanta.

Political career

Gbajabiamila was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2003, representing the Surulere I constituency of Lagos State. He was re-elected and served for six (6) consecutive terms.

Gbajabiamila criticized members of the National Assembly for switching parties. He suggested that many voters don't have access to the information to make choices based on every individual's stance and therefore sometimes vote for candidates based on their party alignment. He criticized floppers with this in mind, saying the effect "cannot be anything but negative".

Gbajabiamila was the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives in the 7th National Assembly.

Gbajabiamila was head of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating claims by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) about the 140.9 billion naira (about $1 billion) debt owed by 'Zenon Petroleum & Gas Limited' and 'Forte Oil Plc'. The call for an investigation of the reported payment was made by another lawmaker, Bimbo Daramola who moved the motion that the House set up a panel to verify the claims by AMCON that the two Femi Otedola-owned companies have paid back the money that the government of Nigeria paid for petroleum products that were reportedly not delivered as agreed upon by the dictates of the government's fuel subsidy scheme. Bimbo Daramola had suspected that the payment, if truly made, was "shrouded in secrecy."

Gbajabiamila was elected speaker in the 9th National Assembly House of Representatives with 283 votes, while his opponent Mohammed Umar Bago came in second with 78 votes.

In the House, Gbajabiamila demonstrated a passionate concern for issues relevant to his constituents and Nigeria as a whole. He earned a reputation as a brilliant legislator.

After 20 years, he resigned as a member of the House of Representatives on 14 June 2023 to assume office as Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.

Awards

In October 2022, the Nigerian national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) was conferred on him by President Muhammadu Buhari.

References

References

1. (2 October 2022). "Full List: Okonjo-Iweala, Abba Kyari... FG nominates 437 persons for national honours".
2. Baiyewu, Leke. (20 February 2022). "Gbajabiamila shares 145 vehicles, education grants, others to constituents". [[The Punch]].
3. Akinboyo, Temidayo. (2 June 2023). "Tinubu names Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff, Akume as SGF". [[Premium Times]].
4. Olayiwola, Ajisafe. (2 June 2023). "Meet Tinubu's CoS: What you need to know about Femi Gbajabiamila". [[The Punch]].
5. (2 June 2023). "Tinubu names Femi Gbajabiamila chief of staff, George Akume cabinet secretary". [[Peoples Gazette]].
6. "Biography".
7. (20 February 2022). "Gbajabiamila, Obasa, others advocate regular medical check up". [[The Guardian (Nigeria).
8. (20 February 2022). "Gbajabiamila pledges 9th assembly will open up legislative space to youths". The Guardian.
9. (5 February 2022). "What Osinbajo, Gbajabiamila have in common". [[The Nation (Nigeria).
10. Ibiam, Agha. (7 February 2004). "Gbaja-Biamila: Shocked Beyond Belief...". BNW.
11. "Hon. Femi Gbaja Biamila". [[National Assembly of Nigeria]].
12. Dunia, Godwin. (3 November 2015). "Law School class '84 commended". The Guardian.
13. "Gbajabiamila and His Constituency".
14. Iniobong, Iwok. (3 June 2023). "Gbajabiamila, Hadejia, Akume and the challenge of new portfolios". [[Business Day (Nigeria).
15. "Interview". femigbajabiamila.
16. "Rep. Gbajabiamila Femi".
17. Ameh, John. (12 October 2012). "Reps Panel to Probe N140.9bn". [[The Punch]].
18. Ayitogo, Nasir. (11 June 2019). "Gbajabiamila wins House Speaker seat".
19. (2 June 2023). "Things You Didn't Know About Femi Gbajabiamila, President Tinubu's Chief Of Staff-designate". [[Leadership (newspaper).
20. Olayiwola, Ajisafe. (2 June 2023). "Meet Tinubu's CoS: What you need to know about Femi Gbajabiamila". The Punch.
21. (14 June 2023). "Just in: Femi Gbajabiamila resigns".
22. (9 October 2022). "Full List: 2022 National Honours Award recipients". [[The Nation (Nigeria).