About – Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji was born in Epe, Lagos State on the 24th of
August, 1958. A devout Muslim, born to the late Chief & Mrs. Murtala
Atanda Ikuforiji.
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji attended the Local Authority Central School,
Epe, Lagos where he had his primary education. Following on, he attended
Epe Grammar School where he broke a four-year record in the school by
becoming the only candidate who obtained Division 1 out of 105 students
that sat for the West African Secondary School Certificate examination
in 1975.
His outstanding performance earned him a scholarship to further his
studies abroad. He was offered a place to study in Romania at
Babes-Bolayai University and Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies where
he obtained a Master’s of Science degree in Economic Planning and
Cybernetics in September 1981. During his time at university, he was
elected as the President of the National Union of Nigerian Students also
the President for the Association of Nigerian Students.
On returning to Nigeria, in relation to his education, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi
Ikuforiji went on to study at the University of Lagos Business School
where he attained a Masters in Business Administration in 1986. Rt. Hon.
Adeyemi Ikuforiji also holds a number of certificates from Harvard
University the Kennedy School of Government. His continued passion for
change in the Nigerian government system also led him to recently attend
the Global Change Programme: Leading with Commitment, Creativity and
Courage at Harvard University - Kennedy School of Government in May,
2012.
Outside of politics, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji enjoys table tennis,
swimming, and going to the gym. He also enjoys, travelling and
experiencing different cultures. He mostly reads motivational books,
biographies and the latest research in leadership and managerial
techniques. He regularly gets involved in community initiatives, i.e.
the youth football club and other sporting activities.
His passion for sports saw him launch the Springfield U17 Football
Competition for Epe Division, (Ikuforiji Cup) in 1995, which he still
actively supports today.
In the area of academia, he founded the Epe Educational Foundation to
provide indigent students with scholarships to further their education.
This scheme has been very successful and has seen some of the young
people, some of whom are now graduates occupying enviable positions in
various fields.
Early Career
After his studies in Romania, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji returned to
Nigeria in 1982 to undertake and complete his National Youth Service
Corps. During his service he was made the Chairman for the Nigerian
National Youth Corps for the Federal Housing Authority where he served.
His career background includes a secondary school teacher, the Managing
Director for Springfield Import and Export Procurement and General
Contracting, a Networking & Technology lecturer for Wake Technical
Community College in North Carolina, USA. He also undertook various
roles at the International Bank for West Africa (Afri-Bank).
Political career
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji is a highly visionary leader with over twenty
years leadership and managerial experience working at the helm of
public and private organizations. He has extensive experience developing
and implementing budgets at the regional and state levels of government
with a population of approximately eighteen million residents. He is
politically astute, diplomatic and results oriented with the ability to
achieve outstanding results in challenging environments.
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji's political career started in 1978. His
experience as the Secretary General of the National Union of Nigerian
Students, followed by his role of President of the National Union of
Nigerian Students in Romania, between 1980 and 1981 sparked his interest
in politics.
Between 1982 and 1983, he served as the General Secretary, Unity Party
of Nigeria in Ward A4, Epe, and was an active member of the Social
Democratic Party of the same Ward in 1990.
He contested the 2003 election into the Lagos State House of Assembly on
the platform of Alliance for Democracy to represent Epe Constituency 1
and later emerged Speaker of the Assembly in December 2005.
He has since transformed the Lagos State House of Assembly, resulting in
great changes in its operation and administration making it more
efficient to the electorate.
Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji was first elected Speaker of the Lagos House
of Assembly on 29th December, 2005. Following his victory at the April
14th 2007 General Elections, he was returned to represent Epe
Constituency II in the State Legislature under the aegis of Action
Congress (AC) now Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). At the inauguration
of the 6th Assembly held on Monday, 4th June, 2007, he became the first
Legislator to serve as a Speaker for two consecutive terms.
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi’s Pledge to Lagos State House of Assembly
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji strives at all times by way of motions,
resolutions and legislations to enhance the quality of the living
condition of the people of Lagos State; his aim is to cooperate with
well meaning individuals, groups and organizations for the entrenchment
of a virile democracy in a true federation and in totality, by his
actions and deeds, give meaning to the concept of true representation.
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji has established himself as a leader who is "
of the people, by the people, for the people."
He said in his victory speech in 2011:
"To whom much is given, much is expected. Hence, we can’t afford to let
the people of Lagos down. We must get to the task of making good laws,
effective governance and administration of the state in the paramount
and collective interest of the people."
As the Speaker, he approved and managed the re-development of Lagos
State House of Assembly; he commissioned several buildings during the
4th Assembly, including schools, water pumping stations and sporting
facilities.
From June 2007 – June 2011, he successfully implemented the activities
and plans for the Lagos State 5th Assembly. He also passed successfully
Seventy-Two (72) State bills for Lagos State; examples include the
establishment of the Lagos State Waste Management Regulatory Bill, the
Lagos State Signatory Bill and Advertisement Bill.(See Legislation)
Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji is a member of a number of Committees within
the House. He is the Member of the Education Committee, Member of the
Commerce and Industry Committee and the Member of the Environment
Committees.
He successfully introduced the conduction of the plenary sessions in the local native tongue, first of its kind in Nigeria.
Due to his outstanding work from June 2005 – June 2011, he was
overwhelmingly re-elected as the Speaker of the House by his colleagues.
He developed the House to be recognised as the "Leading" House of
Assembly in Nigeria. He has been honoured as the Best Speaker in Nigeria
by the National Leadership Award in Abuja, among other awards.
For his outstanding work as the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji
received the “Certificate of Excellence” in October 2008, in recognition
of his outstanding contributions towards the development of the
democratic process in Lagos State, Nigeria as a well as the whole
African continent. This goes to show his commitment to the development
of Democracy in Africa.
Rt Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji in April 2010 successfully completed the
"Public Financial Management" course from the Harvard University John F.
Kennedy School of Government Executive Education. He was also awarded
certificates for the successful completion of "Science, Technology and
Innovation Policy" programme and "Leadership for the 21st Century" in
2008 both from Harvard University.
