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Tag: Adeola

  • Adeola hails Ambode’s nominees

    Adeola hails Ambode’s nominees

    The senator representing Lagos West, Solomon Adeola, has hailed the executive council list submitted to the House of Assembly by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    He said the nominees have the experience and exposure to continue the development of Lagos mega city.

    Adeola, who spoke in Lagos, said with a professor, six lawyers, three doctors, two journalists,  he had no doubt in Ambode’s ability to take Lagos to new heights.

    “I must say I am impressed with the governor’s painstaking efforts in choosing a team that comprise a mixture of technocrats, politicians and strategists.

    Adeola said it was a major advantage that most of the nominees have been part of governance and politics in Lagos State since the advent of democracy in 1999.

    The senator promised to continue to champion the struggle for a special status/funding for Lagos State as the former federal capital as well as the economic capital of Nigeria.

  • Lagos West Senatorial election: Adeola floors Adewale at tribunal

    •Tribunal upholds another Lagos lawmaker’s victory 

    The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lagos has declared All Progressives’ Congress candidate, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola winner of the March 28, 2015  Lagos West Senatorial election.

    The three-man tribunal led by Justice Sylvanus Orji, yesterday delivered  the judgment  in the petition filed by the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  Segun Adewale, challenging the victory of Senator Adeola in the election.

    In a unanimous judgment that lasted two and half hours, the tribunal dismissed the petition of the PDP candidate for lack of merit and incompetence.

    Adewale had sued Adeola, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), asking that he should be declared the winner.

    Adewale was represented by his lead counsel, Dr YemiOke while Adeola was represented by R.A Olagoke. Dr.MuizBanire (SAN)  represented the APC with INEC  represented by Oluwaseun Olusiyi.

    Adewale, in the petition had alleged that the election was characterized by irregularities and rigged to favour the APC candidate.

    He had further alleged that the results submitted by the various wards did not correspond with the number of voters accredited by the card readers, and that election did not hold in some wards among other irregularities.

    He therefore urged the tribunal to declare him as winner of the election.

    But the APC in its preliminary objection contended that the petitioner (Adewale) lacked the locus standi to institute the action.

    The party argued that the petitioner did not specify the law under which he brought the petition and also failed to state the votes scored by the candidates.

    “By provision of Electoral Act, the petitioner is expected to specify the scores of all the candidates in the election. He only specified his own score and that of the APC candidate who is the  respondent.”

    Adeola, on his part, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the ground that it lacked merit.

    He specifically contended that there was  material contradiction with the petitioner’s prayer and urged the court to declare him winner.

    The tribunal however disagreed with Adewale’s contention, insisting that there was no substantial evidence to prove that Senator Adeola was not qualified to run for the election.

    On the claim of the petitioner that there were irregularities at the polling units, the tribunal held that Adewale did not provide substantial evidence to validate his claim.

    In the view of the tribunal, the party agents at the polling units failed to provide evidence that there were irregularities at several polling units, to confirm such allegation and claims by the petitioner.

    The tribunal held that in the absence of any evidence from any party agent, that Adewale’s allegation of irregularities at several polling unit was mere speculation.

    The tribunal however chided  Adewale and his legal team for disregarding the court’s guideline in filing his final written submission.

    The tribunal members noted that Adewale’s legal team filed 104 pages of final written address as against the 40 pages stipulated by law.

    Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Lagos Mainland Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Moshood Olarenwaju Oshun yesterday declared that his victory at the Lagos State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal is a confirmation that he truly earned the confidence and trust of the people in the constituency.

    Oshun, who spoke through his media office after the tribunal sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State yesterday upheld his victory at the 2015 election, further said the people of his constituency should be congratulated for their steadfastness, support and cooperation with the All Progressives Congress, APC, through which he emerged candidate and won the election.

    Ibrahim Olumide Ajiga of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had petitioned the tribunal, headed by Justice Sylvester Orji, challenging the declaration of MoshoodOlanrewaju by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC

  • Adeola at 46: From Omoyayi to distinguished senator

    Adeola at 46: From Omoyayi to distinguished senator

    He took to the political scene by storm a few years ago, starting out as a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly. He crossed over to the House of Representatives. Today he is a senator. This is the political odyssey of Solomon Olamilekan Adeola popularly known as Yayi. Kayode Odunaro writes.

    It is usual in social and political circles for leaders to be ascribed nicknames that to a large extent represent the attributes and virtues of the individual.   For Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, his popular nickname is ‘Yayi’.  Yayi is a sobriquet coined from the Yoruba name of ‘Omoyayi’ translating literally to “Distinguished Son”.  Adeola is not only living a distinguished life, worthy of emulation and celebration but also a life positively impacting on many individuals and the development of Nigeria.

    The Senator was born on August 10, 1969 at Lagos Island Maternity Hospital to Mr. Ayinde Adeola Ogunleye and Madam Abeeni Olasunbo Ogunleye (nee Akinola).  His early childhood was at Alimosho where his parents brought him up to surmount many challenges of early life. Yayi began his education at State Primary School, Alimosho in Lagos State. On the successful completion of his primary education, he proceeded to Community Grammar School, Akowonjo, Lagos, for his secondary education. His quest for educational advancement in life took him to the prestigious Ondo State Polytechnic, Owo, now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, where he bagged the Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting. A man with a mission to fulfill in life, Adeola became a Chartered Accountant at a relatively young age. He is a distinguished Chartered Accountant-Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, (ICAN), a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation as well as a Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

     Adeola variegated experience in both private and public sector finance started in “The Guardian Newspapers Limited”, where he put in almost 12 years of meritorious accounting service and rose to the position of Accountant.  In a profession where experience in a professional firm is a key proof of competence, Yayi resigned from “The Guardian” and proceeded to Olatunji Omoyeni and Co where he led the audit team for several years and was later promoted to the position of a Senior Auditor.  Having cut his teeth in the accounting profession through education and practice, working for others, Adeola later established his company, SOOTEM Nigeria Limited, where he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in the firm that specialized in tax consultancy until his foray to serve the public through partisan politics.

    Following his decision to join active politics, Adeola pitched his tent with the progressive arm of Nigerian politics by joining the then Social Democratic Party (SDP).  In spite of daunting challenges relating to military government, Adeola bravely continued with his foray into politics at the dawn of the 4th Republic.  He was nominated and won the primary of the then ruling Alliance for Democracy (AD) and was elected as a member to represent Alimosho State Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2007 to 2011. A man of immense financial and political skills, he was appointed the Chairman of Finance Committee and Joint Chairman of Appropriation Committee of the Lagos State House of Assembly. In that position, he was reputed to be instrumental to the enactment of the law that strengthened the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service. The legislation and reforms laid the foundation that catapulted the revenue of the state from a paltry N5billion monthly to over N20billion presently! He was also part of the legislative team that passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Public Procurement Act of Lagos State, two laws that saw Lagos State qualifying to access developmental funds from international financial bodies like World Bank. Adeola can claim credit as part of the architects of the widely acclaimed recent development in Lagos State through the provision of legislative enactments and support for the executive arm of the state government in his 8 years stint as a state parliamentarian.

    And in all his years as a legislator, Adeola set the standard for effective representation that saw his repeated re-elections. He is noted for his numerous personal and constituency projects in Alimosho. The people of Alimosho can never forget his developmental initiatives in the area of provision of water through boreholes, provision of electric transformers, regular free medical programmes and rehabilitation of roads. Other areas of  life changing programmes that are the hallmark of Yayi’s representation include educational empowerment and support in the form of building classrooms with ancillary facilities,  annual purchase of GCE/NECO forms and tutorials for indigent students as well as ICT training at NIIT for hundreds of youths in his constituency.

    Without doubt, his sterling performance in public service of Lagos State naturally made him a first choice for promotion for national service. Adeola was nominated and elected to represent Alimosho Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives of the National Assembly in 2011. The tenure culminated in 12 years of unbroken legislative experience at both state and federal legislature. When the committees of the House of Representatives were to be appointed, he was selected as the chairman of the only constitutional committee of the House, the Public Accounts Committee. It was a feat that he got this important post usually reserved for ranking members as a first time member of the House.

    His performance in that committee in relation to exposing corruption and sharp financial mal-practices of government agencies has attracted national attention. But for his effective oversight as the chairman, not many Nigerians would be aware of the “slush fund” called Service Wide Votes running into billions of Naira yearly. A serious move is on to abolish this from our budgetary system and curb the observed corruptive tendencies of what is a duplication of contingency fund in budgets of MDAs.

     In fulfillment of his core function as a legislator, Adeola sponsored and successfully pushed through to passage a bill that repealed the colonial Audit Act of 1956 and Re-Enact the Audit Act of 2014 on May 22, 2015. The new law when concurred to by the Senate will lead to the establishment of a Federal Audit Service Commission as well as grant autonomy to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

    With the outstanding performance of his legislative responsibilities and effective representation of 12 years, the last four years being in the House of Representatives, it is small wonder that he was seen as the best leg forward for the vacant seat of senator for the Lagos West Senatorial District, the largest senatorial district in terms of population in Nigeria

    Adeola won his closest rival with a margin of over 70,000 votes at the March 28, 2015 Presidential and National Assembly Elections. He indeed made history by moving through consecutive electoral victories from the State Assembly to the House of Representatives and to highest legislative body in Nigeria, the Senate.

    Adeola, a Christian, is a believer in religious freedom for both Christians and adherents of Islamic faith. He is on record to have donated brand new buses to religious organisations of both faiths as well as sponsored several Christians and Muslims to Jerusalem and Mecca respectively on pilgrimage. The great philanthropist is happily married to his heartthrob, Mrs. Temitope Adeola, and the union is blessed with children.

    At 46 years of age, Adeola is setting a worthy record of an experienced legislator par excellence. He is indeed a “Distinguished Son” that is now a “Distinguished Senator” of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    –kayodunaro@hotmail.com

  • Soyinka, Adeola urge OPS on education funding

    Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, have called on the organised private sector to assist the government in repositioning the education sector.

    They spoke at the Third Convocation of the Kwara State University, Ilorin which coincided with the presentation of awards to winners of the Business Plan Competition sponsored by Sterling Bank Plc.

    They noted that with the rising challenges facing governments, the growth of the sector relies mainly on private sector participation through appropriate funding and provision of content.

    Soyinka, who delivered the Convocation Lecture, advised on the need for private sector to take more interest in the sector, noting that thre was the need to develop the sector as it remains the bedrock of any nation.

    Adeola, who was represented at the event by Mr. Ademola Adeyemi, the Regional Business Executive, South West, expressed optimism that the foray into the sector by the bank would encourage other financial institutions to see the need to contribute their quota to the growth of the sector for the benefit of students.

    His words: “The challenges in the education sector are three fold – funding, capacity building and content. These have continued to hamper the development of the sector in the country leading to the outflow of foreign exchange as many Nigerians seek better and quality education abroad.

    “This informed our decision to set up the One Education Desk to constantly seek out and execute ideas that would champion the advancement of the education sector in Nigeria through strategic partnerships, service provision for students, parents, teachers/lecturers, vendors, school administrators and the non-academic staff as well as the provision of world-class ICT solutions and other services with the ultimate aim of reducing unemployment in Nigeria”.

    He added that the desk would serve as the platform “to achieve our objective of putting in place a one-stop shop for ICT infrastructure solutions and other services needed to take education to the next level, ultimately improving the quality of graduates churned out in Nigerian institutions”.

    Adeola said the sponsorship of the  competition was a confirmation of “our conviction at Sterling Bank that the MSMEs remain the catalyst of economic growth of any nation especially in a developing economy like ours. It also goes a step further to attest to our commitment to the sustainable development of the education sector in Nigeria”.

    While praising the university for organising the competition, he said “it will serve as a starting point for the galvanisation of practical ideas towards the industrialisation of the country”.

    Adeola enjoined the winners of the award to use their prizes on their projects to create value for themselves and the society.

  • 100% PVC collection not possible, says Adeola

    100% PVC collection not possible, says Adeola

    Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts Hon. Solomon Adeola said at the weekend that a 100 per cent Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) collection before election is not attainable.

    Addressing All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leaders from Lagos West Senatorial District, who visited him, the senatorial candidate said from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) statistics, Lagos State has attained 81 per cent PVC collection. He said that the collection rate will improve before the March 22 collection deadline.

    “It is not possible to have a 100 per cent PVC collection. Lagos has attained 81 per cent as at the last count. He said those complaining or petitioning of PVC collection at this point were not prepared for the election and only dreading their imminent defeat.

    Adeola urged the youth leaders to enjoin those with PVCs not to sell their cards as some political parties are bent on disenfranchising those that already have PVCs for unknown reasons.

    He called on the youths to work hard for the desired change that is adding that, since 1999, this is the first time that the opposition is ahead of the ruling party in popularity rating by reputable polling organisations.

    The leader of the Youths Mr. Lukmon Jimoh, said APC youths in the district will deliver all ward to the APC.

    Also, a group in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos West Senatorial District, the Grassroots Progressive Movement (GPM), has endorsed the senatorial ambition of Solomon Adeola to represent Lagos West in the Senate.

    Its leader, Pastor Michael Oyedepo said the group which cut across all tribes with professionals and artisans, sees in the antecedent of the legislator a representative that has the interest of the people at heart.

    “We came to register our support for you face to face as we have been preaching to people on the need to have you as the senator as the most qualified candidate. You are friendly and hardworking. You have a record of public and community service and we are sure you will not disappoint at the Senate.” Oyedepo said.

    Adeola lamented Nigeria’s economic situation saying he will always support and partner with groups and individuals that believe in people’s power in electing leaders adding that until such groups as theirs and individual began to assert and exercise their power change to better leadership is very unlikely.

  • Adeola warns on investment of N4.5t fund

    Adeola warns on investment of N4.5t fund

    Ensuring the safety of pension funds, which has grown to N4.5 trillion in the last 10 years,  is more important than releasing it for equity or infrastructural investment, former Managing Director, GT Bank, Fola Adeola has warned.

    Adeola, who is also the head of the committee that set up the Pension Reform Act 2004 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, gave the warning while speaking at the commemorative dinner of the 10th anniversary of the pension reform in Nigeria organised by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    He cautioned the regulatory body, PenCom, to de-emphasise disclosing the figure of the accumulated funds to the general public so that people do not always think the money belongs to the commission.

    He urged PenCom to advise all the people clamouring for investment of the money in the capital market, real sector, among others, including the President Goodluck Jonathan that the security of the fund is paramount.

    He said the money is primarily for people who have worked all their years either in the private  or public sector. What would happen to a man who after 35 years of work cannot move or get his benefit, he queried.

    He said: “In restructuring the 2004 Pension Reform, what we wanted to achieve was a system that will take money out of the system into private hands and regulated by government. Today, people are in constant touch with their money. I didn’t mind that there should be no interest but safety.

    “Left to people in the capital market, all the money should be in equity; those in infrastructure want it in real sector. The fund was at zero 10 years ago and today it is N4.5 trillion but what will it be in the next 10 years if it is messed up.”

    Adeola said some organisations have to opt out of the scheme because they want to go back to the system they are used to which is open to fraud. “There is no amount of money that cannot finish and it is the way we handle the money that will determine whether it will be there forever.

    “For PenCom, the idea is not to be telling people there is N4.5 trillion because it is not their money. They are not a signatory to it either. It is something that PenCom should educate the President and work with him. This is the anchor for my vision for the next 10 years and as we are getting bigger, let’s be careful on how we release money to infrastructure, among others. If you put out 10 per cent of the money and you lose it, you are dead.”

    The greatest thing here is trust and when broken, it is an end coming, he said.

    PenCom Director-General, Chinelo Anohu-Amazu in her address, said the 10th anniversary of the pension reform in Nigeria commemorates the milestone of a journey, which sought to break Nigeria away from an endless cycle of despair in its pension sector and launch it into a new era of blissful retirement for all employees.

    She stated that the assemblage brought together private sector leaders, the icons of the pension reform and other important stakeholders to celebrate as well as usher in the strategic focus of the reform as it transits into the next decade.

    The ring-fencing of pension fund assets and regulatory noninterference, according to her, has resulted in the consistent growth in a large pool of pension assets of over N4.5 trillion, which are invested in structured and safe financial instruments; and a remarkable growth when compared with huge estimated pension liabilities in the public sector prior to the reform in 2004.

    The reform has also engendered a regime of regular payment of retirement benefits to all employees who retired under the scheme since 2007 without delays as was the practice in the old system.