Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN (Yoruba: Babátúndé Rájí Fáshọlá; born 28 June 1963) is a Nigerian politician who is currently the Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing and was Lagos State Governor from May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015. As a candidate of the Action Congress party, now known as the All Progressives Congress, Fashola succeeded Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on 14 April 2007,and was sworn in on 29 May 2007. He was re-elected on 26 April 2011. On November 11th 2015, he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to be the Minister of Power, Works and Housing
Personal life
Babatunde Raji Fashola of Yoruba origin, from Lagos, was born in Lagos on 28 June 1963. He attended Birch Freeman High school Lagos and Igbobi College Lagos. He studied Law at the University of Benin from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, LL.B.(Hon), degree in 1987.
He is married to Mrs. Abimbola Emmanuela Fashola and they have children.
Legal career
He was called to the Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in November 1988 after completing the professional training programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos which he undertook between 1987 and 1988. His legal career of over one and a half decades, commenced in the law Firm of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Belgore, where he cut his legal teeth as a litigator over such wide-ranging areas of specialisation as, intellectual property (registration of trade marks), commercial law, covering general contracts, company activities, mergers, acquisitions, right issues, ownership of shares and equity of corporations, as well as land disputes, criminal law and chieftaincy matters, in all of which he has come to acquire appreciable expertise and vast experience.
Fashola, a Notary Public of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, has been variously honoured with awards and certificates of merit including the Distinguished Alumnus Award conferred on him by the University of Benin Alumni Association in recognition of contributions to the Alumnus association and humanity. He is also a recipient of Lagos State public service club Platinum Award for outstanding contribution towards development. As well as Alliance for Democracy " Igbogbo Bayeku Local Government Award" in recognition of activities towards the success of the party.
Babatunde Fashola is also a Patron of the Law Students Association of the University of Benin and he is the second law graduate from the University of Benin and the first member of the Nigerian Law School graduating class of 1988 to be conferred with the professional rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He is also the First ever Chief of Staff to be so honoured. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
Governor of Lagos state
Babatunde Raji Fashola commenced a four-year tenure as the Executive Governor of Lagos State in Nigeria on 29 May 2007. In June 2007, Babatunde Fashola appointed former Inspector General of Police Musiliu Smith head of the Lagos State Security council, a body charged with taking a holistic look at the anatomy of crime in the state.[5] The Babatunde Fashola Good Governance Group (G3) movement is a good example of Fashola's commitment to reaching out to the people using various media channels.
Political limbo
By December 2009, there had been rumours and speculation by news media that Babatunde Fashola was subjected to a possible impeachment from within, primarily because of disagreements with the former governor. A similar situation played itself out between Tinubu and Femi Pedro, Tinubu's former Deputy Governor, in the run-up to the gubernatorial elections in 2007. It is believed that there was a dispute over Fashola's 2.1 billion Naira worth of commission with the former governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, although both Fashola and the Lagos State House of Assembly had earlier denied such plot ever took place.
But in late January 2010, the Lagos State House of Assembly launched an investigation into possible mishandling of tax payers' money by Fashola, mainly on the ongoing mega city project. The accusations range from importing of palm trees from Niger, for gardening projects within a rain forest state, to improper usage of contract money involving one of Lagos State's contractors. The group carrying out the investigation was known as the "True Face of Lagos". The final reports were due to be submitted on 15 February 2010,but the True Face of Lagos was later abolished. There were attempts to re-launch the probes through a petition, but they were again being turned down by the court.
THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) finally ended months of speculation over the second term ambition of the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), when it endorsed him as the party's sole candidate for the 2011 governorship election.
