Femi Pedro

Last updated

Femi Pedro
Deputy Governor of Lagos State
In office
29 May 2003 29 May 2007
SpouseJumoke Pedro
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • economist

Olufemi "Femi" Olusegun Pedro (born 29 January 1955) is a Nigerian economist and politician who served as deputy governor of Lagos State from 2003 to 2007. Before his election alongside Bola Tinubu, he was a co-owner and the chief executive officer of First Atlantic Bank, now FinBank.

Contents

Pedro is the current chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), and the founding chairman of the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund. [1]

Personal life and education

Early childhood

Femi Pedro was born in Lagos Island to Pa Olajide Pedro, an Aguda retired officer of the defunct Western Nigeria Marketing Board, Ikeja, and Modupe Pedro (née Abayomi) on 29 January 1955. Pedro is a descendant of Pa Sanusi Adeyinka Pedro, whose father settled in the Shomolu area of Lagos before moving to Bamgbose Street in Popo Aguda, Lagos Island. [2]

Education

Pedro received a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Superior (1976–1978) and a master's degree in economics from Wichita State University (1979–1981). [2]

Family

He is married to Jumoke Pedro, a High Court judge in Lagos. [2]

Business career

Pedro started his banking career in 1982 when he joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He rose to the post of assistant manager in 1985, and became a research economist. In 1986, he was admitted as an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London, United Kingdom. He worked at First City Merchant Bank (now First City Monument Bank) afterwards in 1988, where he became the executive assistant to the bank's chairman and chief executive officer (CEO). He became the deputy manager and head of corporate planning in the same year. [2]

Pedro became one of the first investors in Guaranty Trust Bank with Fola Adeola, Tayo Aderinokun, Gbolahan Osibodu, Femi Akingbe, and Akin Opeodu. He later took up a senior managerial role at its inception in 1990, [2] and was responsible for opening a multitude of its branches across the southern and northern parts of Nigeria. He served in various capacities at the bank until 1997, when he voluntarily retired. On the eve of his retirement, he was admitted to the fellowship of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). [2]

In January 1998, Pedro ventured into private business as the chairman of Agro-Corp Ventures Limited, a commodity processing company. The same year (Nov 1998), he was appointed managing director and CEO of Comet Merchant Bank (now FinBank, following the acquisition of the bank by a consortium of investors including himself). [2]

Political career

In his years as the deputy governor, Pedro was appointed chairman of Lagos State Revenue Mobilization committee. They restructured, reorganised and re-engineered the Board of Inland Revenue. His experience in the banking sector helped increase Lagos State's internally generated revenue from a rate of 300 million naira per month to 7 billion naira within eighteen months. He was popularly referred to as "Mr. Pedronomics", primarily due to his affinity towards micro and macro-economic policies. [3]

Pedro introduced and implemented the PSP and waste management model that is currently used in Lagos. He was also in charge of conducting extensive research in Brazil with other cabinet members to study and understand the novel metropolitan bus transport system which resulted in the BRT. [4]

Gubernatorial run

On 13 December 2006, Pedro dumped the Action Congress to declare under the Labour Party. He became the first-ever Nigerian to contest for a gubernatorial election under the Labour Party platform. On 30 January 2007, Pedro named Oluranti Adebule as his running mate for the 19 April elections. [5]

2011 elections

On 24 September 2010 Pedro declared his intention to run for the 2011 governorship election in Lagos State on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. [6]

Pedro lost the PDP's party primaries to Ade Dosunmu. He was subsequently appointed as executive vice-chairman of the PDP South West Fund Mobilization Team, which was put together by the presidency to lead the PDP efforts to raise substantial funds for elections in the southwest. [7]

Reconciliation with Tinubu and return to APC

Throughout 2013, indications of reconciliation became evident between Tinubu and Pedro, who had fallen apart in the buildup to the 2007 elections. The Oba of Lagos publicly and privately encouraged the reconciliation after Tinubu attended the wedding ceremony of Pedro's son in 2012, which was the first time they had been publicly seen together since 2006. [8]

In December 2013, Pedro reportedly held a secret meeting with Tinubu, the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and the interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, to finalise his move back to APC. [8] Within a matter of days of the report breaking out, Pedro released a statement confirming the allegations. [9]

Post-2015 political appointments

Within days of his return to APC, Pedro was appointed as the chairman of the APC Registration Exercise Committee in February 2014 in Ondo State. [10]

On 12 February 2018, he was appointed as the pioneer chairman of the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund. [11]

On 1 March 2018, Pedro was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the chairman of the board of directors of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of NIgeria (SMEDAN). [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bola Tinubu</span> President-elect of Nigeria (born 1952)

Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is a Nigerian politician. He is currently president-elect of Nigeria. He served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic.

John Odigie Oyegun is a Nigerian politician who served as the first national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria. He was also the Executive Governor of Edo State between 1992 and 1993, during the aborted Nigerian Third Republic.

Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon is a Nigerian politician. He was senator for the Lagos West constituency from 5 June 2007 to 6 June 2015. He is a member of the Action Congress (AC), now All Progressives Congress (APC). He is a former president of the Rotary Club of Isolo

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Progressives Congress</span> Nigerian political party

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the three major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the party came to power following the victory of party candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election. This marked the first time in Nigerian history that an opposition party unseated a governing party and power was transferred peacefully.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimi Agbaje</span> Nigerian Pharmacist and Politician

Olujimi Kolawole AgbajeListen, is a Nigerian Pharmacist, and Politician. He was the 2015 PDP's Lagos State Governorship candidate, but he lost out to the eventual winner Akinwunmi Ambode. He was the 2019 Lagos State gubernatorial election candidate for PDP in the 2019 general elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemi Osinbajo</span> Vice President of Nigeria since 2015

Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo is a Nigerian lawyer, professor, and politician who is the 14th and current Vice President of Nigeria since 2015. A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he previously served as Attorney General of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and holds the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. In April 2022, he announced his intention to run for the APC nomination for President of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election. He was third in the APC presidential primaries held in June 2022 with a total of 235 votes from the delegates.

Idiat Oluranti Adebule is a Nigerian politician, she served as the 15th deputy governor of Lagos state and the sixth woman to occupy the office from 2015 to 2019. She was elected senator representing the Lagos West senatorial district in February 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babajide Sanwo-Olu</span> Nigerian politician (born 1965)

Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is a Nigerian politician who has served as governor of Lagos State since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Lagos State gubernatorial election</span> 2019 election to choose the Governor of Lagos State

The 2019 Lagos gubernatorial election was conducted on 9 March to choose the Governor of Lagos State. The election was held concurrently with various state level elections. Incumbent APC Governor Akinwunmi Ambode lost to the APC flag bearer Babajide Sanwo-Olu at a direct primary election in October 2018 and hence ineligible to run for second term under APC. Babajide Sanwo-Olu won in a landslide against Jimi Agbaje of the PDP who had previously run unsuccessfully for Lagos state governor twice. From 1999, Lagos state has been governed by AD, AC, then ACN, three parties which subsequently formed part of the coalition that birthed the APC in 2013.

An election for Governor of Lagos State took place on 11 April 2015. All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Akinwunmi Ambode, who is a former accountant general of Lagos State, defeated People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Jimi Agbaje and Alliance for Democracy (AD) candidate Bolaji Ogunseye. The governor and deputy governor are elected on the same ticket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Nigerian general election</span> General election held in Nigeria

General elections were held in Nigeria on 25 February 2023 to elect the president and vice president and members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is term-limited and could not seek re-election for a third term. This election was seen as the tightest race since the end of military rule in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Katsina State gubernatorial election</span> 2019 gubernatorial election in Katsina State, Nigeria

The 2019 Katsina State gubernatorial election occurred in Nigeria on 9 March 2019. Incumbent APC Governor Aminu Bello Masari won re-election for a second term, defeating PDP Garba Yakubu Lado and 16 other party candidates.

The 2003 Lagos State gubernatorial election occurred on 19 April 2003. Incumbent Governor AD's Bola Tinubu won election for a second term, defeating PDP's Funsho Williams and four other candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahman Owokoniran</span> Nigerian politician

Rahman Owokoniran is a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly. He was appointed commissioner for Housing (2003) and then commissioner for chieftaincy and boundary affairs (2006) under Bola Tinubu's tenure as Lagos State Governor. He led as the chairman of the committee for the creation of the twenty Local government areas and seventeen Local development councils in Lagos State. He currently emerged as the Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) after elections which were held in Osogbo, Osun State recently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Nigerian gubernatorial elections</span>

The 2023 Nigerian gubernatorial elections will be held for state governors in 31 out of 36 Nigerian states. All but three elections will be held on 18 March—concurrent with elections to every state house of assembly, three weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections—while the Imo State, Kogi State, and Bayelsa State elections will be held on 11 November. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all states were in 2019. All states have a two term limit for Governors which makes 18 incumbent governors ineligible for re-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Lagos State gubernatorial election</span> 2023 gubernatorial election in Lagos State, Nigeria

The 2023 Lagos State gubernatorial election will take place on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Lagos State, concurrent with elections to the Lagos State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly. The election will be held two weeks after the presidential election and National Assembly elections. Incumbent APC Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is eligible to run for re-election and has been renominated by his party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Nigerian presidential election</span>

The 2023 Nigerian presidential election was held on 25 February 2023 to elect the president and vice president of Nigeria. Bola Tinubu—the former Governor of Lagos State and nominee of the All Progressives Congress, won the disputed election with 36.61% of the vote, 8,794,726 total votes. Runners-up were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party, and former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi, Labour Party, who both immediately contested the result; Obi claimed he won. Other federal elections, including elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate, held on the same date while state elections will be held two weeks afterward on 11 March. The inauguration is set for 29 May 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Nigerian elections</span>

The 2023 Nigerian elections were held in large part on 25 February, and will be held on 11 March 2023. The president and vice president were elected on 25 February, with incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari ineligible to run, being term-limited. Additionally, there were also elections on the same day for the Senate and the House of Representatives. On 11 March, twenty-eight gubernatorial elections will be held alongside elections to state houses of assembly in all 36 states. Three additional gubernatorial elections will be held later in the year alongside potential rerun elections for regularly scheduled elections annulled from earlier in the year.

The 2023 Nigerian Senate elections in Lagos State was held on 25 February 2023, to elect the 3 federal Senators from Lagos State, one from each of the state's three senatorial districts. The elections coincided with the 2023 presidential election, as well as other elections to the Senate and elections to the House of Representatives; with state elections being held two weeks later. Primaries were held between 4 April and 9 June 2022.

Events in the year 2023 in Nigeria.

References

  1. "Pedro Appointed Lagos Sports Trust Fund Founding Chairman". NewsDiaryOnline. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Official Bio of Femi Pedro". Archived from the original on 18 March 2007.
  3. "The Nation Newspaper Nigeria - Read the Latest Nigeria News". The Nation Nigeria. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010.
  4. "compassnewspaper.com".
  5. "NIGERIAN TRIBUNE - News". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  6. "thisdayonline.info".[ permanent dead link ]
  7. thepost. "Defence Minister, Pedro, others to raise fund for Southwest PDP". thepost-ng.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Tinubu, former deputy, Femi Pedro reconciles as Pedro dumps PDP for APC". osundefender.org. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  9. "Lagos ex-deputy gov, Pedro, joins APC". The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013.
  10. "Learn from APC registration exercise - Ex-Deputy Governor of Lagos tells INEC - DailyPost Nigeria". DailyPost Nigeria. 5 February 2014.
  11. "Ambode inaugurates boards of Sports Trust Fund, commission". 12 February 2018.
  12. BusinessDay (30 December 2017). "Buhari appoints 209 board chairmen". Business Day . Retrieved 21 June 2022.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)