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Tag: Dimeji Bankole

  • Isola mourns ex-Speaker Bankole’s mum

    Isola mourns ex-Speaker Bankole’s mum

    Nigeria’s immediate past High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola OFR, has expressed sadness over the death of Alhaja Monsurat Atinuke Bankole, mother of a former Speaker Dimeji Bankole. 

    Bankole died on Friday after a brief illness at 79. 

    “I commiserate with our most respected father, Chief Alani Bankole on the death of his dear wife. My heart goes out also to my brother, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Dimeji Bankole, son of Alhaja Monsurat Atinuke Bankole,on this bereavement,” Isola said in a statement on Friday. 

    He said the death of Alhaja Bankole, a few days after that of Alhaja Adebisi Edionseri, alias Cash Madam, has robbed the state of another woman of substance. 

    Read Also: Atiku, Lawal, Tambuwal, El-Rufai, others donate to UNINIGER 

    According to the former Secretary to the Ogun State Government: “The transition of Alhaja Monsurat Atinuke Bankole few days after that of Mama Adebisi Edionseri has robbed our State of another woman of substance. We however take consolation in the fact that both of them lived fulfilled lives and left behind worthy legacies.” 

    Ambassador Isola, who is also the Baba Adinni of Ogun State, prayed Almighty Allah to “accept the return of Alhaja Monsurat Atinuke Bankole as a devout Muslim and grant her soul Al Jannah Firdaus.” 

    He also prayed Allah to grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

  •  Ogun sets up committee to review appointment of 75 Obas by Amosun

    The Ogun State government, on Friday, set up a committee to review the appointment, installation and promotion of traditional rulers in the state, carried out by the out-gone governor, Ibikunle Amosun, in the twilight of his administration.

    A total of 75 people were appointed and installed as coronet Obas by Amosun across  the state and this has continued to elicit condemnation, even from the state’s House of Assembly, which passed a resolution suspending the installed monarchs on the grounds that their appointment didn’t follow due process.

    Foremost businessman, kingmaker and politician, High Chief Alani Bankole, for instance, condemned Amosun’s installation of the 75 Obas in one swoop, describing the action as “pure madness.”

    He said, that, a governor is not elected to disrupt the social and cultural system of a people, lamenting that even in a community where the residents were less than 200, Amosun, allegedly, appointed an Oba there, wondering the rationale behind such decision.

    Bankole, who is the father of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, noted that as a kingmaker, he has a duty to promote, protect and defend the sanctity and sacredness of the culture and traditions of Egba people, added that the incident was an abnormality.

    However, in a statement by the newly appointed Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, and made available to The Nation, the state government stated that the Review Committee comprises His Royal Majesty Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland (chairman); His Royal Highness, Oba Yinusa Adekoya, the Dagburewe of Idowa; His Royal Highness, Oba Adewale Osiberu, the Elepe of Epe, Sagamu; High Chief Yinka Kufile, the Aro of Egbaland; Babajide Oyeti, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; and Lanre Osota, the current Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, who will serve as the secretary to the committee.

    Read Also: Reversal of Amosun’s misdeeds in Ogun State

    The Committee’s Terms of Reference are to identify all the Obas and Chiefs whose appointments or promotions fall within the review period as contained in the recent resolution of the Ogun State House of Assembly and determine on a case-by-case basis, whether such appointment or promotion is in accordance with due process and extant laws of Ogun State.

    Others are to identify and address any other issue that the committee may consider relevant to its assignments and make appropriate recommendations as deemed necessary to the government.

  • Bankole pledges to tackle youth unemployment in Ogun

    Former Speaker Dimeji Bankole has pledged to tackle the worrisome youth unemployment in Ogun state which he said is a time bomb both to the state and the country.

    Bankole who is the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the Gateway state for the March 2 polls, added that there is a link between the ever growing unemployment rate and rising crimes in Ogun and the rest of the country.

    The former number four citizen on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made this known to reporters in Ota area of the state during his tour, pledging  that if elected, his administration would create mass employment for thousands of jobless graduates who could not find gainful employment after school.

    Bankole said: “One thing that everyone keeps complaining about is lack of jobs and opportunities for their children. My party is formed to address that challenge.

    Read Also: Accident kills 12 in Ogun

    “Ogun people are not interested in where the governor comes from, they want to know if he has the capacity to create jobs for the children who remain idle even after graduating from higher institutions. That is what our party promises: jobs, jobs, jobs for everyone.”

    Bankole, who also rued the deplorable state of roads in Ogun West Senatorial district, promised  to fix them in order to maximize the economic potentials of the zone, stressing he would not  tamper with funds meant for the development of Local Governments in the state.

     

  • What’s up with Dimeji Bankole?

    It is with slow, painful but unsuccessful attempts at flapping its wings that the cockerel came to the realization that it cannot fly. If recent developments are anything to go by, former speaker of the House of Representatives and Ogun State gubernatorial hopeful, Dimeji Bankole, may have come to the same conclusions.

    A few months ago, the state was buzzing with the news that he was going to contest the number one seat. Now the story appears to have changed. No sooner had he announced his interest in the coveted seat than he started traversing the state with a truckload of empowerment schemes to capture the hearts of the people. He also organised numerous meet-and-greet programmes with the various constituencies.

    While the story from his camp is that he is still very much in the running for the coveted seat, the conditions of most of his contact centres seem to be telling a different story. Gone are the days of hustle and bustle at the centres as they are now as quiet as a graveyard.

    Although no one seems yet to know the reason for this state of affairs, it is being speculated in some quarters that the youngest ever speaker of the House of Representatives is finding the gubernatorial battle too hot to handle.

  • Dimeji Bankole’s latest moves

    There is a popular saying that the luckiest people are usually those who know how much of their fate to leave to chance. If former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, hasn’t come across this adage, he is at least living according to its message. The Ogun State indigene has been working assiduously behind the scenes, putting the machinery in place in a bid to mount a successful play for the state governorship and a senatorial seat when the next election cycle comes around. Bankole, who remains the youngest person to head either legislative chambers at the federal level, tasted defeat last time out when he tried unsuccessfully to win the PDP governorship ticket for his state. And like a lion that lost a contest due to overconfidence, he has emerged from the experience chastised and vowing never to repeat the same mistake twice.

    Since then, he has been underground, mapping out winning strategies, which involve the reactivation of grassroots machinery like the Dimeji Bankole Movement and Goodwill Reliance Foundation, which helped to propel him to the lower chamber. With these, as well as other moves, he hopes to have his ‘anointed’ to gun for the governorship of Ogun State, while also clinching a senatorial ticket for himself.

  • S/West economy: Obanikoro, Bankole, others meet in Ibadan

    S/West economy: Obanikoro, Bankole, others meet in Ibadan

    The Former Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt Honourable Dimeji Bankole, former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, were among other ‎political bigwigs from various political parties in SouthWest, on Monday met in Ibadan, Oyo State capital to discuss agenda for the economic and industrialised emancipation of the region.

    The politicians who held a meeting under a group called Yoruba Patriots’ Movement, YPM, allso included, former Minister of State, Defence, Prince Kayode Adetokunbo, former Secretary to Osun State Government, Alhaji Fatai Oyebade, former Chief of Staff to former Governor of Oyo State, Dr Saka Balogun, Professor Adesoji Adesugba and Dr Kunle Olajide.

    Others are Dr Doyin Okupe, Elder Wole Oyelese, Chief (Mrs) Funmilayo Jabaru, Professor Soji Adejumo, Prince Dotun Oyelade among others.

    Speaking to journalists, the National coordinator of the Movement, Hon Oladosu Oladipupo the meeting was not for 2019 general election but to liberate the region from its current economic hardship.

    He said, “YPM was floated to mark out agenda for the region’s economic emancipation which majorly dwell mostly on agriculture and industrialisation”.

    Oladipupo said impunity of Fulani is one of the reasons for the decision to liberate Yoruba from the bad influence of the people from the Northern Nigeria saying the idea is to be modelled after the economic principles of Obafemi Awolowo during his rule in Western regional government.

    He said the group will have another meeting where they will come up with agenda that revisit the utility function of the region’s natural resources to generate wealth.

    He added that the agenda will also seek to educate the present generation to be value oriented to make use of the orientation of the past to make the Yoruba nation thrive economically again.

  • Bankole canvasses listing of big companies on Stock Exchange

    •Stockbrokers chief urges quick economic recovery measures

    Former  House of Representatives speaker Hon Dimeji Bankole has called for systematic government regulations that ensure big companies operating in Nigeria are listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Bankole, who was guest speaker at the Gala Night for the 20th yearly conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in Lagos, noted that the capital market cannot serve as a true barometer for the economy because several big companies operating in the countryare not publicly quoted.

    According to him, in the same way that the economy is in need of complexity, the stock market is also in need of a broader variety of stock options. Examples of such big companies include major companies in the telecoms sector, such as MTN, Globacom and Airtel; distribution and generating companies (discos and gencos) in the electric power sector;  and all major companies in the upstream oil and gas sector.

    He pointed out that the absence of these companies from the capital market has constrained the scope and depth of the market and by so doing the market’s capacity to serve as credible investment outlet.

    “This needs to be changed; shallowness of the capital market was a major reason for the asset bubble in 2007/2008 that caused the near collapse of the market. The asset bubble arose from over concentration of financial assets in few viable equities, amidst an unprecedented credit boom in the economy,” Bankole said.

    He added that to develop a sound capital market with high absorptive capacity as seen across developed economies, government and all stakeholders must work to deepen the Nigerian capital market.

    “We need economic complexity; this means that the government and economic regulators need to compel all major enterprises in the economy to list their shares in the capital market. These major companies make a lot of revenue from the labour of Nigerians who are unable to hold stake and share in their wealth,” Bankole said.

    He called for continuing enhancement of the regulatory system at the stock market to sustain investor confidence and forestall market abuses.

    According to him, in 2008, Nigerians willingly borrowed money from banks to invest in the stock market and when the market bust, innocent Nigerians were left to pick up the pieces and there’s very little that can be said today to convince them to bring their hard-earned wages to capital market that in their eyes failed to protect them as the banks made profits at their expense.

    He pointed out that the Nigerian stock market cannot thrive without the backing and support of the Nigerian people, noting that in order to renew the confidence of Nigerians in the stock market, the regulatory agency must ensure its own visibility and transparency within the market.

    “It must be seen as a credible authority with legitimacy and power to act. Boosting domestic investor confidence will send signals to the market that will attract foreign investors,” Bankole said.

    Meanwhile, the CIS President Mr  Oluwaseyi Abe, has urged the Federal Government to ensure speedy implementation of its new measures aimed at reviving the Nigeria’s economy.

    Besides, Abe who expressed optimism in the potency of the government’s economic revival strategy, stated that growth should be equitable and inclusive for enhanced overall development of the economy.

  • Dimeji Bankole plans big for dad’s 75th birthday

    QUIET birthday celebrations are unheard of in the circle of elites in Nigeria. It comes as no surprise then that former speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is planning to pull all the stops to ensure his father’s 75th birthday celebration is marked with as much fanfare as possible.

    While Dimeji Bankole shot into fame as the youngest ever speaker of the House of Representatives at 37 in 2007, his father, Chief Suarau Alani Bankole, is a formidable figure in his own right. He is a former vice chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party. He established the first freight company in West Africa, and currently chairs the West African Aluminium Products (WAAP) Plc. Chief Alani Bankole is heavily involved in the politics of his Egba ancestral home. He holds the title of Seriki Jagunmolu of Egbaland and doubles as the Oluwo of Iporo Ake, while his wife, Atinuke, is the Ekerin Iyalode of Egbaland. He recently launched a book, Alake of Egbaland: The Succession Dynamics, wherein he revealed his unquantifiable knowledge in the royal matters of his people.

    To mark the elder Bankole’s 75th birthday is a lecture titled Bankole the Great Builder. to be delivered by Justice Dahiru Mustapha (CFR), a former Chief Justice of the Federation, at Park Inn by Radisson, Abeokuta on September 17. The crème-de-la-crème of the politics and business sectors are expected to attend.

  • Dimeji Bankole’s re-launches ambition

    Dimeji Bankole’s re-launches ambition

    Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Sabur Dimeji Bankole, has a special technique that has helped him achieve success over the years. He believes in ample preparation and strategic planning. No wonder he always seems to be moving ahead of time as he has begun an underground move to install the next governor of Ogun State.

    Part of the move is the reactivation of his political structures across the State. These include such groups as Dimeji Bankole Movement and Goodwill Reliance Foundation. Inside sources say he hopes to sell his senatorial ambition and governorship agenda to the public through these channels.

    Bankole had unsuccessfully fought for the governorship ticket of the PDP in the state during the 2015 general election. He thereafter took the back seat and reportedly told his loyalists to distance themselves from elections.

  • Dimeji Bankole now spends time on Polo

    Dimeji Bankole now spends time on Polo

    Nigeria’s former number four man, Dimeji Bankole’s, social life suffered a lull a few years back when he ceased to make frequent appearances at public celebrations hosted by his ilk. This is contrary to what obtained during his four-year tenure at the House of Representatives. A hitherto exuberant Bankole took a backseat in the scheme of things, although he still managed to show on the periphery of the political circus in his state, Ogun.

    Informed sources disclosed that the Peoples Democratic Party chieftain now spends more time playing polo. He is said to be leveraging on his membership of the club to reposition himself. He now spends most of his time in Lagos and Abuja Polo clubs.  As Speaker, Dimeji brought panache to the exalted seat with charisma, brilliance and elocution.