Biography

Bola Ahmed Tinubu Biography, Age, Education, Political Career, Net worth, Controversy

Published

2 years ago

Jun 30, 2022.

Paul Mbagwu

Bola Ahmed Tinubu Biography, Age, Education, Political Career, Net worth, and Controversy.

EDITOR’S PICK:

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is a Nigerian politician, who was the Senator for Lagos West during the Third Republic and former Governor of Lagos State. He is the founding leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party since its inception in 2013.

Who is Bola Ahmed Tinubu?

He announced his desire to vie for the APC presidential candidacy in the 2023 presidential election in January 2022. He later won the primary election held in June 2022, after which he became the All Progressive Party flag bearer, in preparation for the 2023 general Presidential election.

Bola Tinubu Early Life and Education

Tinubu is a native of Osun State. He was given birth to by Mrs Abibatu Mogaji, on 29th March 1952. No information about his dad. But, his mum was a trader who became the Iyaloja, of Lagos state. She held the position till her death.

Tinubu’s education is one remarkable thing worth knowing. He started at St John’s primary school at Aroloya Lagos and continued at children’s home school in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria.

He finished his secondary education abroad, where he attended Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois.

He completed his education at the state university of Chicago and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in accountancy. As well as with several significant honours in 1975.

Bola Tinubu Political Career

Tinubu started his political career in 1992 as a member of the Peoples Front faction of the Social Democratic Party(SDP), which was led by Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. In the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic, he was elected to the Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency.

Tinubu became a founding member of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition after the results of the 12 June 1993 presidential elections were annulled, a group that galvanized support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of Moshood Abiola as the election’s winner.

He went into exile in 1994 after General Sani Abacha‘s assumption of power as military head of state, and returned to the country in 1998 after the military dictator’s death, ushering in the Fourth Nigerian Republic.

Bola Tinubu was a disciple of Alliance for Democracy (AD) leaders Abraham Adesanya and Ayo Adebanjo in the run-up to the 1999 elections. He went on to defeat Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, a former Minister of Works and Housing, in the AD primary for the Lagos State governorship elections. He ran for Governor of Lagos State on the AD platform in January 1999 and was elected governor.

During his eight years in office, he made large investments in education and reduced the number of schools in the state by returning many schools to their former owners.

In the April 2003 elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won other states in the Southwest except for Lagos State, which was rewon by Tinubu alongside a new deputy governor, Femi Pedro under the party of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Tinubu has a power battle with the federal government on local government issues.

Tinubu’s relationship with deputy governor Femi Pedro deteriorated after Pedro announced his desire to run for governor. Pedro ran for governor as an AC candidate in 2007 but withdrew his candidacy on the night of the party’s nomination. He switched allegiances to the Labour Party while continuing his job as deputy governor. Tinubu’s term as Lagos State Governor ended on May 29, 2007, when his successor, the Action Congress Babatunde Fashola, assumed office.

Tinubu announced his desire to run for the President of Nigeria to President Buhari on the 10th of January, 2022. He later won the primary election held in June 2022, in which prominent politicians such as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Rotimi Amaechi, Rochas Okorocha, among others, contested. Thereafter, he became the All Progressive Party flag bearer, in preparation for the 2023 general presidential election.

Net worth & Controversies

According to the analysis made by different sources online, it can be concluded that Tinubu is one of the richest politicians in Nigeria.

He has an estimated net worth of $32.7 billion. Some of his properties that could be attributed to being his sources of income include the following.

• Oriental Hotel

• Falomo Shopping Complex

• First Nation Airline

• Lekki Concession Company

• Apapa Amusement Park

• Maiyegun Land Project

• The Nation Newspaper

• Renaissance Hotel

• Tejuoso Market (Joint ownership)

• Ikeja Shopping Mall

• TV Continental

• Converted Lagos Poly land for TVC

• Owned NNPC Office building in Lagos

• Radio Continental

• Owned School of Nursing building in Lagos

• Tax Collector of Lagos State (owns Alpha Beta, a company Prof. Osinbajo is a director)

• Oando Oil (Receives over $500 million dollars annually from government petroleum subsidy)

FURTHER READING:

Controversy

Tinubu’s career has been marred by accusations of corruption and doubts about the truth of his personal past for a long time.

The Federal Government brought Tinubu before the Code of Conduct Bureau for trial in April 2007, after the elections but before Babatunde Fashola assumed power, for the alleged illegal operation of 16 distinct offshore accounts. Tinubu was cleared of charges of conspiracy, money laundering, abuse of office, and official corruption in relation to the sale of V-mobile network shares in 2004 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in January 2009.

There were claims in March 2009 that a conspiracy to assassinate Tinubu had been discovered. Mike Okiro, the Inspector General of Police, has been tasked by the Alliance for Democracy to undertake a thorough inquiry. However, there were claims in September 2009 that the British Metropolitan Police were looking into a transaction in which the Lagos State government invested in Econet (now Airtel). Tinubu claimed that the deal was plain and advantageous for the state, with no middlemen involved.

Also, Tinubu has been dubbed the “Godfather of Lagos” for wielding his political clout in the state to sway regional and national issues.

The Lion of Bourdillion, a 2015 documentary film showcasing Tinubu’s political and financial grasp on Lagos state, exposed his role in tugging the strings of the state. Tinubu sued the producers, AIT, for N150 billion in libel, and the documentary was cancelled on March 6, 2015.

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