Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila is the 9th Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives after a wide margin defeat of his rival, Umar Mohammed Bago representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency.
The cheering news greeted Nigerians and the entire world on Tuesday 11th June 2019 after Femi under the platform of APC representing Surulere I Federal Constituency in Lagos, defeated his rival with 283 votes to beat Bago also on the platform of All Peoples Congress (APC) who scored 76 votes of the total votes cast.
Femi who before emergence as the 9th Speaker of the Green House is a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while Bago had the support for the position by opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila, was born on the 25th of June 1962 into the family of Lateef and Olufunke Gbajabiamila.
He did his primary education in Lagos at the popular Mainland Preparatory School and went to Igbobi College, Yaba in 1973 for his secondary education where he obtained his first and secondary school certificates respectively in 1978.
Gbajabiamila went to King Williams College, Isle of Man, United Kingdom where he sat for his ‘A Levels’ and graduated in 1980. He returned to Nigeria to pursue a degree in Law at the University of Lagos.
He graduated with honors in 1983 and was subsequently admitted into the Nigerian Law School. He was called to the Nigerian bar in the year 1984.
Gbajabiamila set up his own Chamber, Femi Gbaja and Co. on Broad Street, Lagos, before furthering his education in the United States.
He was said to have earned the prestigious Juris Doctorate at the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia where he graduated with a first class.
Gbajabiamila returned to Nigeria to become a full time politician by joining the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) and won his first term election in the House of Representatives in 2003.
In 2007, Femi was re-elected as Action Congress (AC) leader and Minority Whip of the House.
In 2011, he also contested and emerged winner for the third term on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He was again re-elected ACN leader and leader of the opposition in the House.
In 2014, Gbajabiamila emerged the Leader of opposition in the House led his colleagues into the merger that gave rise to what is now known as the APC.
2015, he was elected for the fourth time but lost his fight to become Speaker to Yakubu Dogara. The unrelentless Politician, now Speaker did not stop at the defeat, as his re-election at the 2019 general election paved the way for the exotic position of the 9th Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives.
Femi Gbajabiamila was elected Leader of the 8th House of Representatives on July 28, 2015.
This dogged fighter has sponsored a number of bills and motions including the following:
- Employee Rights Bill
- Vocational Schools Bill
- The Economic Stimulus Bill
- Local content in Construction Industry Bill
- Interest-Free Students Loan and Establishment of Nigeria Education Bank Bill.
Gbajabiamila is the first politician to strongly denounce the estimated billings by the Electricity Distribution Company and sponsored the bill criminalizing the estimated billing system, which he described as criminal and must stop.
While Nigerians and indeed the entire look forward to his successful tenure as the 9th Speaker of the Federal House of Representative, we pray he will not depart from the just cause, equality for all and social justice which he has always known and fought for.
The new Speaker of the National Assembly is married with children with an estimated net worth of about $50 million dollars.