Babajide Sanwo-Olu biography, age, education, wife, children, political career and more
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a Nigerian politician under the All Progressive Congress, APC, political party and he is the current Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria.
Who is Babajide Sanwo-Olu?
He was born in Lagos on June 25, 1965, into a Christian family.
Upon obtaining his first leaving school certificate, he proceeded to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he bagged his first degree in the Department of Surveying.
Sanwo Olu obtained an MBA from the University of Lagos and also attended the John F. Kennedy School of government, the London Business School and the Lagos Business School.
He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and a fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Training and Development (NITAD).
Babajide Sanwo-Olu Career
Sanwo-Olu was the treasurer at the former Lead Merchant Bank from 1994 to 1997 after which he moved to the United Bank for Africa as the head of the foreign money market.
He then proceeded to First Inland Bank, Plc (now First City Monument Bank) as a deputy general manager and divisional head. He was the chairman of Baywatch Group Limited and First Class Group Limited.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu Political life
Babajide Sanwo-Olu began his political career in 2003 when he was appointed a Special Adviser on Corporate Matters to the then deputy governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro. He later served as the acting Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget until 2007, when he was appointed as the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry by the then Governor Bola Tinubu.
After the General Elections of 2007, he was appointed Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola.
He was later made the Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in 2016.,
As part of his services in the public sector, his achievements include the supervision of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) privatization projects. He set up and was the Pioneer Board Chairman of Lagos Security Trust Fund. The LAGBUS System and the Control & Command Centre in Alausa were subsequently established under his directives.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu in September 2018 expresses interest in the Lagos State Gubernatorial seat under the All Progressive Congress (APC), Prompt to his expression of interest, he was endorsed by major stakeholders in Lagos state politics;
He won the Lagos gubernatorial primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on 2nd October 2018. At the APC flag-off campaign rally held on 8th January 2019, the Governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, and 63 political parties shows their support for the candidacy of Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu was elected to the Office of Governor of Lagos State at the 2019 General elections for Lagos State as he won against his opponent Jimi Agbaje on 9th March 2019.
He was sworn in as the 15th Governor of Lagos State at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Lagos Island on Wednesday, May 29, 2019.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu Personal Life
He is married to Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-olu and blessed with four children.
Babajide Sanwo Olu’s Wife
Babajide Sanwo-Olu is married to Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and they are blessed with four children.
Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu is a medical practitioner and also an administrator.
She obtained her first degree in MBBS from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA).
Babajide Sanwo Olu’s children
Sanwo-Olu and his wife are blessed with children. In an inauguration picture shared in 2015, Sanwo-Olu was seen standing with his two sons and two daughters.
Sanwo-Olu in an interview claimed his children motivated him to contest for governorship. He noted his children drew his attention to the fact that he had been a seasoned administrator, with about 17 years’ service in government, a period during which, he said, he had served in various capacities that had exposed him to the intricacies of governance and economic policy-making.
FURTHER READING:
- INTERVIEW: Most Projects Embarked On By Gov Sanwo-Olu Have Cash Backing. If We Say We Want To Do Anything, Money Will Not Be Problem – Gbenga Omotoso
- Lagos Is A Boom Country: Sanwo-Olu Bought 2 Trains Wisconsin Could Not Pay For – Photos
- [JUST IN] 2023: Sanwo-Olu Presents His Gov Nomination Forms To Tinubu
Babajide Sanwo Olu’s controversies
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanwo-Olu was reported to have mismanaged relief funds for the pandemic. The PDP called for an enquiry into the expenditure.
In January 2022, the Peoples Gazette reported that the Sanwo-Olu administration had increased the state government’s monthly payment to Alpha Beta LLC from ₦800 million to ₦2.5 billion. The government payments for tax processing had long been controversial as Alpha Beta is extensively controlled by former Lagos State Governor and Sanwo-Olu ally Bola Tinubu; however, the payment rose during the Sanwo-Olu administration prior to Tinubu’s 2023 presidential campaign. Speculation arose that the increased government payments were meant to help fund the Tinubu campaign in exchange for Tinubu’s support for Sanwo-Olu’s re-election campaign.
Lekki massacre
On 20 October 2020, during the End SARS protests, the governor imposed a 24-hour curfew starting at 4 p.m., which was subsequently extended to begin at 9 p.m. Just before 7 p.m., soldiers and policemen were deployed to disband the protests. This led to the shooting and killing of an unconfirmed number of protesters, leaving others injured.
Amidst the outcry over the shooting, the judicial panel Sanwo-Olu set up earlier that week to look into police brutality and started to investigate the incident. Over a year later in November 2021, the panel released its report on the shooting, stating that at least nine people were shot dead and declaring it a “massacre” in direct contradiction to Army statements.
However, Sanwo-Olu immediately set up a committee to write a white paper on the panel’s report and the white paper committee swiftly denied any deaths occurred leading to criticism from civil society and protesters.
Babajide Sanwo Olu’s Awards
Some of the variety of awards obtained by Sanwo-Olu over the years include:
- Platinum Award from the Lagos State Public Service Club.
- 2009 Best in Human Capital Development Award from the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
- Merit Award from the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.
- Merit Award from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management in Nigeria (CIPMN)
- Merit Award from the Association of Personnel Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN)
- LSDPC Impact Leadership and Recognition Award.
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