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Oladimeji Sabur[1] Bankole (born November 14, 1969) is a Nigerian politician and Speaker of the House of Representatives. The son of Abeokuta chief Alani Rufus Bankole, he was a businessman before being elected to the House. Elected at age 37,[2] Bankole is the youngest Speaker in the history of the House.[3]
[edit] Early life, education, and sportsA Muslim[4] Egba,[5] Bankole was born in Abeokuta in what is now Ogun State on November 14, 1969. His parents are Alani Bankole, a businessman, former National Vice Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)[5], Seriki Jagunmolu of Egbaland and his wife Atinuke Bankole, Ekerin Iyalode of Egbaland.[4]
All Africa.com reports that he holds a professional certificate in Public Finance from Harvard University, USA. [6]. Bankole states he never went to Sandhurst military academy but only took courses for military officers at Oxford University where he was in the Artillery Corps.[7]. Bankole is a polo player, and is a member of the Lagos Polo Club, where his position is defense.[4] He also enjoys football.[8] [edit] Business careerBankole was the Director of Freight Agencies Nigeria Limited from 1995 until 1998, Executive Director of Operations of West African Aluminium Products Limited from 1998 until 2003, and Director of ASAP Limited from 2000 until 2003.[4] He is also an economist.[9] [edit] Political careerIn 2003, Bankole was elected to the House of Representatives on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) ticket to represent the Abeokuta South Federal Constituency of Ogun State. He was Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Finance while Aminu Bello Masari was Speaker,[10] (Farouk Lawan was Chairman of the committee)[9] and was also previously Chairman of the House Committee on Land Transport.[10] Other committees he has sat on are the panels on Defence, Internal Affairs and Banking, and Currency.[8] Bankole was re-elected in April 2007.[4] He considers his legislative interests to be those related to defence and finance.[11] [edit] House of Representatives SpeakershipIn September 2007, a committee questioned Speaker Patricia Etteh about her spending of ₦628 million ($4.8m) on home renovation and automobiles. She denied wrongdoing, but many representatives were unhappy with her attempts to defend herself, blows were traded on the floor of the House, and Etteh had to be escorted from the chamber.[12] Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and many top PDP members continued to back her,[13] but a large segment of the party, led by Lawan and including Bankole, called for her resignation.[10] It was reported that Bankole, among multiple other contenders, hoped to succeed her as early as October 5, 2007.[14] After Etteh's resignation from the post on October 30 (along with her deputy, who was also caught up in the scandal),[15] Integrity Group (anti-Etteh) member Terngu Tsegba became interim speaker.[8] Samson Osagie of Edo State nominated Bankole for the post of Speaker, and Lynda Ikpeazu of Anambra State seconded the proposal. On November 1, he was elected to succeed Etteh.[10] His challenger was Osun State Representative George Jolaoye, whom he beat by 304 votes to 20 (and 4 abstentions). Etteh was among those who voted against Bankole.[2] The new deputy speaker is Usman Bayero Nafada.[10] On his election, Bankole said "I am taking over the mantle of leadership at a very difficult time. But these are hard times, we need to build confidence again and assure the populace that we are still their representatives. I want an independent house that Nigerians will be proud of, this is my first task."[8] One week after his election, political opponents claimed that Bankole had not completed his National Youth Service Corps (N.Y.S.C) service, which is mandatory for all Nigerian university graduates under thirty years of age when they graduate, and called for his resignation over the issue.[16] Bankole provided his N.Y.S.C discharge certificate, ending the rumor.[17] [edit] Emma Skipper FoundationBankole established a charity, the Emma Skipper Foundation. Among the tasks the organization has undertaken are giving microcredit loans and awarding scholarships.[4] [edit] 2009 Excessive Travel Expenses ScandalIn 2009, he was accused of spending over N52b as Travel Expenses. An act many members of the House of Representative described as 'Selfish and Fraudulent', considering the current level of poverty among greater percentage of Nigerians.[18] [edit] References
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