Tag: Bamidele

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has called for concerted efforts of critical stakeholders in resolving the economic challenges and tackling insecurity.

At the just concluded retreat for all senators in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom, he proposed a strategic collaboration between the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and National Assembly as one of the strategies to decisively address hydra-headed challenges that beset Nigeria.

The 2023 retreat for senators came to a conclusion last weekend with renewed hope for the future of Nigeria. This was evident in the pattern of frank discourses that took place at the two-day retreat under the theme, “Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms in Nigeria.” The retreat explicitly delved into diverse issues that placed Nigerians under undue socio-economic burdens in the last two decades.

Obviously, it was not another talk shop. Rather, it was a gathering of patriots, who were curiously in search of antidotes to hydra-headed challenges that viciously beset Nigeria. Its mission was unambiguous from the inception. For the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, it is a forum for building capacity, which every legislator requires to function effectively.

Facilitated by the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies, Akpabio set the stage for this purely legislative retreat, where resource persons freely shared divergent views about many challenges confronting the federation and proposed convergent strategies, which they believed, would restore stability in the country’s macro-economic environment and promote peaceful coexistence if each arm of governments pursues its goals with political will.

Capacity building is just one of the rationales for the parliamentary retreat, according to Akpabio. Besides, the senate president observed that the retreat was designed to develop pro-people legislations that could promote enduring peace; guarantee sustainable development and deepen peaceful co-existence, among all Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic nationalities and religious leaning. .

For these reasons, the retreat was never a mere convention for senators across the federation. In good numbers, also, members of the Federal Executive Council attended the retreat that placed the interest of Nigeria above their political allegiance. Among others, Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Olawale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu and Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State equally graced the two-day retreat.

From its inception to conclusion, the country’s socio-economic realities poignantly came to the fore in the presentation of nearly all guest speakers and resource persons. However, beyond the rhetoric of grim realities that currently eclipse Nigeria, there was a consensus on the significance of developing creative legislative frameworks in response to the country’s socio-economic realities.

 But is the retreat sufficient to activate the consensus, especially at a time of global crises that directly impinge on domestic economies and politics?

Bamidele set the agenda on how to transform the consensus to reality in nearly all sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

He said legislative intervention is critical to every initiative directed at making Nigeria an investment destination or ensuring stability in all parts and sectors of the federation. But Bamidele specifically recommended a forum where the executive and legislature would always meet to perfect institutional approaches to addressing  vicious challenges that threaten Nigeria.

 He further delineated the need for such regular sessions, an initiative comparable to quarterly executive-legislative parleys that successive governments in Lagos State have embraced since 1999 to tackle governance challenges through strategic collaboration and collective responses among arms of government. And the outcome, as far as Lagos is concerned, has been enviable. Can such an initiative work at the federal level? Bamidele did not specifically refer to the case of Lagos. But he suggested that such sessions should be held quarterly or biannually. Also, they should be tailored practically at discussing and perfecting coherent and logical responses to a myriad of socio-economic challenges that complicate the conditions of living and undermine the unity of Nigeria.

On this account, Bamidele explained the imperative of holding regular executive-legislative sessions, which other speakers agreed, would open a new vista of strategic collaboration in the overall interest of Nigeria and her teeming populations. First, according to him, such sessions will give the National Assembly and Federal Executive Council to work out modalities of mainstreaming Tinubu’s eight-point agenda into the programmes of the National Assembly.

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Second, he believed, such sessions will speed up the process of developing and initiating innovative legislative frameworks that can aid delivery of enviable public services within a short period. Bamidele’s argument is pure and simple. He simply argued that actualising Tinubu’s eight-point agenda “entails the collective responsibilities between the two arms of government rather than unilateral roles of the executive.” 

As the senate leader succinctly pointed out, this calls for strategic collaboration between ministers and chairmen of all standing committees in the Senate and House Committees. It also calls for legislators to have strategic sessions with the permanent secretaries and chief executives of key federal parastatals with a view to devising approaches to the implementation of the eight-point agenda in the national interest.

He clearly mapped diverse challenges that currently beset Nigeria. From the food crisis to intractable insecurity, chronic inflation, Naira devaluation and political instability, Bamidele explained how the eight-point agenda painstakingly sought to address all these challenges. He also explained how legislative interventions “are critical to seamless actualisation of the eight-point agenda.”

Bamidele suggested key areas where the executive and legislature should leverage strategic collaboration “to break the vicious cycle of economic doldrums and political contradictions that have been the woes of Nigeria.” The areas include the need to review the Land Use Act, 1979; strengthen the National Directorate of Employment; embrace true fiscal federalism; diversify the country’s economy and standardise social investments.

Like other senators at the retreat, the senate president utterly agreed with Bamidele on the need to set a common forum for lawmakers and members of the Federal Executive Council, where they would discuss issues of strategic national interest and work out innovative legislative frameworks to those issues that threaten the country’s collective interests. It is time, according to him, to culture a strategic collaboration.

Beyond creating an executive-legislative forum, Akpabio specifically explained the place of the Senate, indeed the entire National Assembly, in establishing “an environment that can guarantee investments and promote harmony among citizenry.” For him, this can only be achieved through enacting innovative legislation and carrying out oversight functions purely in the national interest.

Akpabio was not the only functionary that shared this sentiment. Also, Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen and  Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin shared the same conviction. Collectively, they emphasised the need not just to betray the expectation of the people that voted them into offices, but also the hope of all Nigerians irrespective of their political leanings.

Nearly all key speakers agreed to this collective aspiration, which they all argued, should be vigorously pursued in order to evolve a new nation. But Akpabio argued that such an aspiration would not be a mere mirage if the National Assembly fails to work with key functionaries in the Federal Executive Council with a view to mainstreaming Tinubu’s eight-point agenda into the legislative programmes.

With the depth of engagement at the retreat, Edun concluded that a great future “is awaiting Nigeria, though her present challenges may be daunting.” Now that a new vista for strategic collaboration has been opened, Edun observed that both arms of government “are under obligation to work out collective responses to hydra-headed challenges that confront us as a people of common destiny.”

 Edun thus acknowledged the centrality of legislative interventions to the implementation of the eight-point agenda. For him, the agenda is well defined and will be wholeheartedly pursued in the overall interest of the people. However, the minister emphasised the role of the National Assembly in implementing the eight-point agenda, which was at the core of Bamidele’s proposal for strategic collaboration between the executive and legislature.  From food security to poverty eradication; growth, job creation; access to capital; inclusion; rule of law; and fighting corruption, Edun agreed that the time has come for both arms of government to synergise on how to methodically and systematically pursue the eight-point agenda in order to bring about desirable outcomes across all sectors. But does this quest for strategic collaborations suggest the erosion of legislative independence? Stakeholders at the retreat largely disagreed on its possibility of eroding the independence of the National Assembly. Collaboration between both arms, they all admitted, may not in any way turn the legislature to a willing tool in the hands of the executive. Rather, it offers a platform for mainstreaming campaign promises into legislative programmes in the interest of all Nigerians, whether the poor or the rich, the middle class or the vulnerable.

The leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, on Friday, October 20, challenged federal lawmakers to come up with creative legislative frameworks and provide robust oversight support that could guarantee the appreciation and stability of Naira.

Bamidele also recommended regular parleys between federal lawmakers and all members of the Federal Executive Council as one of the measures that should be adopted to integrate the eight-point agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the programmes of the 10th National Assembly.

He made these assertions at a two-day retreat for all senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State under the theme, fiscal policy and tax reforms in Nigeria, according to a statement by his media office.

Organised by the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies, the retreat was designed to build the capacity of the senators to enact pro-people legislation that could promote enduring peace; guarantee sustainable development and deepen peaceful co-existence, among Nigerians.

At the retreat were the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas; Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Mr. Wale Edun and other members of the Federal Executive Council.

Concerned about the weakening of Naira, the senate leader canvassed appropriate legislative frameworks and oversight support for the implementation of responsive fiscal and monetary policy with a view to rescuing the economy from regression.

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He explained that both chambers of the National Assembly “are under obligations to stem the recurring decimal of Naira devaluation and promote economic stability. This entails appropriate legislative framework and oversight support for the implementation of responsive fiscal and monetary policy measures.

He said: “Henceforth, developing appropriate legislative frameworks is central to ensuring macroeconomic stability with a focus on managing inflation, addressing high-interest rates as well as foreign exchange deficit.”

Bamidele equally highlighted diverse antidotes to socio-economic challenges currently confronting the federation, recommending first the urgent review of the Land Use Act, 1979 to redress the current land tenure system and give Nigerians more access to arable farmland nationwide.

He observed that ensuring more access to arable farmland would boost agricultural production exponentially and guarantee food security nationwide because most Nigerians, especially those in the rural communities, were predominantly farmers.

He emphasised the need to prioritise the Small Towns and Village Recovery and Development Bill in order to restore economic fairness to the rural communities in the scheme of national revenue allocations as well as the provision of rural infrastructure.

He added that the initiative would obviously stem the alarming rate of rural–urban drift and the attendant urban population explosion, urban criminality, environmental degradation and huge gap between available resources and demands in the cities.

He explained that effective implementation of the poverty alleviation programme “is fundamental to promoting peace, harmony and sustainable democracy in Nigeria where over 70 percent of the nation’s population is reportedly living below the poverty line.

“To reduce the increasing inequality between the poor and rich, we urgently need to strengthen the National Directorate of Employment through the amendment of relevant legislations that will create limitless opportunities for our teeming jobless populations.

“We are also under obligations not just to overhaul our National Poverty Eradication Programme and National Economic Reform Plan, but also back them up with adequate funding to provide social safety nets for the poor and the vulnerable across the federation.”

Pointing out the alarming rate of corruption in the public space, Bamidele warned that the federation should prepare for mass action from the downtrodden, which might manifest in the form of protests.

As a matter of national security, the senate leader tasked the National Assembly to work out preventive measures to address corrupt practices rather than emphasising antidotes to cure them.

Bamidele also challenged the federal government to discourage selective treatment, executive lawlessness, high-handedness, and political persecution of perceived enemies in the fight against corruption.

Also, at the retreat, Bamidele called for a joint retreat between the executive and legislature in order to work out modalities to integrate Tinubu’s eight-point agenda with the programmes of the National Assembly.

He explained that the proposed retreat would provide an opportunity for all chairmen of standing committees in the Senate and House Committees to sit with ministers and their permanent secretaries to synergise on the approaches to implementing the eight-point agenda of the Tinubu administration.Bamidele

Eminent Nigerians recently converged on Lagos, Abuja and Iyin-Ekiti to celebrate the 60th birthday of Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele.  Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the contributions of the famous student leader, lawyer and politician to progressive politics, nation building and development.

His life is a lesson in courage, focus, perseverance, loyalty to the progressive cause, resolve to make history and a testimony to the power of God.

As a youth, he had donated himself to the struggle for an egalitarian society. He was bubbling with ideas, energy and resilience while holding on tenaciously to his principles. Many youths adore him because of his exploits in activism. But, only a few can afford to tread the thorny path to stardom.

Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, a former student leader and renowned agitator for a better society, became a risk taker. His life, like many of his compatriots, were on line. There was no retreat, there was no surrender. He spoke truth to power and dared the consequences. For those in the movement, not all consequences were palatable.

Under the military rule, he was not afraid of  barrels of gun as he challenged the soldiers of fortune and misfortunes to a duel. It was a titanic battle for the soul of democracy in Africa’s most populous country, the account of which should be documented for the instruction of the younger generation who thought that civil rule was achieved on a plater of gold.

At the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, MOB, as he is fondly called by admirers, mobilised for action as he decried injustices in high places. An eloquent President of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), he often held his audience captive while marshaling his points against the junta. He was not afraid of rmilitary repressive tactics, incarceration and brutal murder.

Those attributes of boldness and bravery also became his invaluable assets as a politician.

In exercise of his personal liberty, Bamidele joined the political fray, learning at the feet of a great tutor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,  who is now president of Nigeria. As a Legislative Aide/ Personal Assistant to the Third Republic Senator, he under-studied his strategies, his mobilisation prowess, his fidelity to principles and progressive causes, his bridge building capacity, nurturing and sustenance of networks, preparation for disappointment, and winning formula.

As a youth, he vied for a seat in parliament during that ill-fated Republic, losing the primary narrowly to a rival in Osodi-Isolo Constituency. It was actually his first baptism of fire. Around the same period, Rauf Aregbesola also lost the primary for the House of Representatives at Alimoso Constituency. Both disciples of Tinubu ran on the platform of the proscribed Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The whole experiment by military President Ibrahim Babangida was designed to fail. It collapsed, following the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola. Efforts by the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and other pro-democracy groups to make the military retrace their steps also failed. Bamidele picked up the gunglet, firing salvos at the Evil Genius. To his consternation, June 12 was, in part, was a lost battle. Abiola was never inaugurated as president.

But, having placed his hand on the plough, there was no going back. As Governor Tinubu began to govern Lagos State, Bamidele was beside him as a loyal and trusted aide. He is not an ordinary technocrat, but an active political worker who served as media and publicity director of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) before serving as commissioner for youths and sports, and later, Information and Strategy under the Fashola administration. Up to now, he is still reverred as a leader in his old constituency.

Ahead of the 2011 electioneering,  Bamidele relocated to his native Ekiti, seizing the politics of Ekiti Central by storm. He built a formidable structure and became the candidate to beat at the Action Congress (AC) senatorial primary, where two dependable loyalists of the indomitable Tinubu- veteran journalists Babafemi Ojudu and Dele Alake-were co-aspirants.

It is expected that Bamidele should reflect on the episode in his memoir or autobiography. Field reports indicated that he was winning across the five local governments-Efon, Ekiti West, Ijero, Ifelodun/Irepodun and Ado. But, according to the party, the custodian of the ticket, Ojudu carried the day. It was final. The party is supreme.

To pacify and compensate Bamidele, the party gave him the ticket for the House of Representatives, where he later became spokesman. He was among top shots who led the senatorial campaign. Ojudu defeated opposition rivals, due to Governor Fayemi’s and Bamidele’s backing, and support of other leaders.

In 2014, Bamidele tried to wrest the governorship ticket, but his arsenal crumbled before the power of incumbency. The former commissioner hurriedly left the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for the Labour Party (LP). The ruling party became divided in in the Fountain of Knowledge

The struggle between the two comrades-Bamidele, a lawyer, and Dr. Fayemi, a war scholar-unleashed a sort of tension on the platform. The battle was unnecessary. There was a report that Bamidele’s father was shoved aside as a ward chairman. The governor said he had no hand in it. The party was divided. Its leaders later paid for the division, polarisation and acrimony on poll day.

In a colourful manner, Bamidele, who rode from Ikere boundary to Ado, was hailed by his supporters as he waved at the crowd in his sports utility vehicle. He passed through the state capital and stopped around the old Textile Area, along old Iyin Road. He was given five minutes to address the crowd by the police commissioner.

Before the expiration of the time, police teargassed the crowd. Many people, including reporters, sustained injuries during the stampede.

Amid the confusion, a reporter scaled a fence and landed in the bathroom of another building where a woman was bathing. The woman cried for help thinking that a rapist was on the prowl. Many bags, shoes and other personal effects served as a reminder of the stampede.

At the close of the poll, both Fayemi and Bamidele lost to Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

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In 2018, Bamidele, fully instructed by the lesson of the past, retraced his steps to the APC. His leader, Tinubu, who announced his return at the governorship rally in Ado-Ekiti, said “Opeyemi has come back, he said he won’t be a labourer again”, a direct repudiation of the LP by the APC national leader.

Bamidele had managed to survived in those terrible times as an activist and mobiliser under the military regime. It is ironic that in a peace time, he nearly lost his life. He was hit by an unintended bullet from a police gun at the party secretariat in Ado-Ekiti and rushed to the hospital in a pool of blood.

Iyin-Ekiti, his crade, was enveloped in anxiety because his father’s corpes were in the mogue. The family was preparing for the funeral of the old man.

The coast was clear for Bamidele to move to the Senate in 2019. Although he renewed his bid for governor last year, his claim could not be sustained at the primary, which Governor Biodun Oyebanji won. It never diminished his popularity. In February, he was re-elected as senator by Ekiti Central constituents.

Oyebanji, who heaped praises on MOB, described him as a vocal advocate and ideological prefect of progressive politics. He thanked him for his support and advice, saying that he is a patriot and dependable party leader. He also ruled out any friction or repressed distrust, saying that it is a figment of imagination.

Tinubu showered praises on his birthday boy. To the Commander-in-Chief, faithful servant MOB is a long-term political associate and trusted ally, who diligently served him as a legislative aide when he represented Lagos West in the Senate.

The president applauded his steadfastness, loyalty, commitment to progressive politics and hard work in the promotion of the welfare of the people.

“I know of Senator Bamidele’s sense of duty and extraordinary talent, having worked with him for many years. His passion, energy and dedication have continued to propel him and will continue to serve him into a greater future,” Tinubu added.

Bamidele is not without honour at the homefront. To the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti,  Oba Adeola Ajakaye, he is a true son of the soil and a lover of growth and development who rose from a humble background to national fame.

Elderstatesman Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) said that the celebrator is a man of impeccable character,  an Omoluabi, whose conduct is worthy of emulation.

Many Ekiti politicians who hold MOB in high esteem, including Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye and House of Assembly Speaker Adeoye Aribasoye, wished him many more of meritorious service to the country.

Mrs Afuye noted that the eminent politician is a man of immense influence and great tentacles, adding that he is generous, competent, calculative, dexterous, cerebral, widely loved and acceptable.

Aribasoye, who hailed Bamidele’s humility, also described him as a charming personality, and an embodiment of service, loyalty and commitment to public good.

In Abuja, where a book was launched as part of the events marking the birthday, Iyin, where  a Christian service officiated by Ven. Zacchaeus Ibitoye held at Babanboni Anglican Church, and Lagos, the venue of birthday bash, Bamidele lived to expectation as a crowd puller.

The Senate Leader also tendered his stewardship. No fewer than 20,000 constituents have been empowered in the last four years. Beneficiaries included widows, unemployed youths, and indigent people. Also, over 100 graduates have been assisted to secure jobs.

“I have also attracted a university of medical science to Iyin Ekiti and the Law school to Ilawe Ekiti. The FG  will soon begin work on them. If you go round the Ekiti Central Senatorial district, I have sunk boreholes to supply potable water to our people across the five councils in the area. This has reduced water scarcity, boost access to good water and reduced incidences of water borne diseases.

“During my time as a member of the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2015, representing Ado/Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency, I attracted 89 projects like libraries, health centres, ICT centres to my constituency. I have never disappointed my people and I remain steadfast with this philosophy,” he added.

The politician is accessible. He is in constant touch with the five councils making up his district. At the cement launching of Efon Day Development Fund in Efon-Alaaye, where he also received an award for diligent service, he donated N5 million to a worthy township cause.

Bamidele is a ranking senator and a power broker. But, he is not a politician without a second address. He is the Founder, Principal Attorney & Head of Chambers at the Law Office of Opeyemi Bamidele & Associates (with offices in Asokoro District, Abuja and Lekki Phase 1, Lagos).

Bamidele graduated in 1986 OAU with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and, later, from the University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree with honours, in 1990. He obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from Franklin Pierce Law Centre in the University of New Hampshire Law School, Concord, New Hampshire, United States, specialising in Intellectual Property Law-International Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law, and Licensing of International Transfer of Technology.

 Bamidele is an active member of the New York and Nigerian Bar, American Bar Association and  International Bar Association.

He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Nigeria), the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants and Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration, Nigeria.

 Bamidele was appointed a member of the Body of Benchers. He is a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research in the 7th National Assembly and Chairman of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) between July 2011 and June 2015.

In recognition of his contributions to national development, the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) was conferred on him by former President Muhammadu Buhari in October, 2022.

Also in July 2023, Bamidele was appointed as the Leader of the 10th Senate.