Adeseye Ogunlewe

Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe is a Nigerian from a royal family of Igbogbo and politician who was elected Senator on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform 1999 for the Lagos East constituency, before he defected to the PDP. He later became the Minister of Works (July 2003 to March 2006).[1] When he was sacked from this position by President Olusegun Obasanjo, it was said to be due to a feud with his former patron, Bode George, the Deputy National Chairman of the PDP.[2]

For the Nigerian athlete, see Seye Ogunlewe (athlete).
Omoba

Adeseye Ogunlewe
ConstituencyLagos East, Lagos State
Senator for Lagos East
In office
April 1999 – April 2003
Minister of Works
In office
July 2003 – March 2006
Succeeded byYahaya Abdulkarim
Personal details
NationalityNigerian
Political partyPDP APC
Alma materUniversity of Ibadan

Background

Ogunlewe is from an affluent dynasty of Igbogbo, a community in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State. His elder brother, Dr. Akin Ogunlewe, was a permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, who was relieved of his position soon after Ogunlewe transferred to the PDP.[3]

Ogunlewe is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan. During his stay in the premier University he lived in Mellanby Hall and participated actively in students politics.[4] He is a lawyer, and at one time was permanent secretary of Lagos State.[3]

Senator

In July 2002, Senator Wahab Dosunmu and Adeseye Ogunlewe accused Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu of abusing trust of public funds through contract awards to his friends.[5]

He ran for reelection in 2003 on the PDP ticket, but was defeated by Olorunnimbe Mamora of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).[3]

Minister of works

In July 2003, Ogunlewe announced that the federal government would invest about US$2.85 billion in rehabilitating and upgrading the nation's highway network, and planned to make all roads in the country accessible by year end.[6] In January 2004, Ogunlewe said the Federal government had approved an extra N900 million for rehabilitation of roads in the South-east.[7]

In April 2004, Ogunlewe won the Dr Kwame Nkrumah Africa Leadership Award in Accra, Ghana.[8] In May 2004, Ogunlewe published his mobile phone number and told people to use it if they saw any pot-holes or had a traffic accident. He said he was inundated with calls, but also said of the roads "They are fantastic now." He claimed that 12,600 km of roads had been rehabilitated in the past six months.[9]

In June 2004, there were clashes in Lagos state between agents of the Federal Ministry of Works and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority. The clashes were over control of Federal roads, and were apparently linked to ongoing disputes between Ogunlewe and the state governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the Alliance for Democracy.[10]

In August 2004, Ogunlewe announced that The World Bank and the African Development Bank planned to cooperate with Nigeria to build the Trans-West African Highway from Lagos to Mauritania's capital Nouakchott.[11] In October 2004, Ogunlewe stated that the year 2005 would see faster rapid progress in road repair and construction.[12]

In March 2006, after being dismissed from his job as Works Minister, Ogunlewe urged President Olusegun Obasanjo to seek a third term in office.[13]

Later career

In July 2006, a Lagos State governorship candidate, Funsho Williams was found murdered in his home. Ogunlewe, who had been a rival for the PDP nomination, was arrested in connection with the murder.[14] He was later released, but in February 2007, he was re-arrested.[15]

In November 2009, the Senate ad hoc committee on transport led by Heineken Lokpobiri, submitted a report to the upper house that revealed "alleged serial malpractices" in road contracting over a ten-year period, and recommended that former ministers of works Anthony Anenih, Adeseye Ogunlewe, Obafemi Anibaba, Cornelius Adebayo and others be prosecuted for corruption.[16] Senate discussion of the report was delayed.[17] Senator Ogunlewe resigned from his position as the Pro-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in 2016.[18] In 2019, Senator Ogunlewe left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress[19]

References
  1. Olayinka Oyebode (May 11, 2009). "Lagos PDP without Bode George". The Nation. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  2. Ndubusi Ugah (28 October 2009). "The Many Controversies of Bode George". This Day. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  3. Habib Aruna and Femi Ogbonnikan (June 22, 2004). "Still on Tinubu/Ogunlewe tango". Daily Independent Online. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  4. Uchechukwu Nnaike (October 20, 2009). "UNILAG Alumni Honour Suswan, Ohakim, Others". Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  5. Bature Umar (July 26, 2002). "Lagos Senators Accuse Tinubu of Funds Diversion". This Day. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  6. "Article: Nigeria to invest 2.85 billion dollars to upgrade highway network". Xinhua News Agency Article. July 31, 2003. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  7. "FG Approves N900m More for S/East Roads". Nigerian News Radio. January 24, 2004. Archived from the original on April 9, 2004. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  8. "Nigerians Get Nkrumah Award". GhanaHomePage. 30 April 2004. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  9. "Call me, Nigerian minister says". BBC News. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  10. Tolu Olarewaju (June 17, 2004). "Pains, the anguish of Ogunlewe/George Army on Lagos roads". Daily Independent. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  11. "WB, ADB cooperate with Nigeria to execute Trans-West African Highway". Xinhua News Agency Article. August 19, 2004. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  12. "Ogunlewe Promises Regular Funding for Road Projects". This Day. 2004-10-27. Archived from the original on 2005-01-19. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  13. Andy Ekugo (March 3, 2006). "Ogunlewe Seeks 3rd Term for Obasanjo". This Day. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  14. "Nigeria police arrest rival in politician's slaying". CBC News. July 29, 2006. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  15. Idowu Sowunmi (February 24, 2007). "Again, Ogunlewe Arrested". This Day. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  16. "Fixing Anenih and others for corruption". Next. November 8, 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  17. Emmanuel Aziken (November 5, 2009). "Senate suspends N300bn contract report". Vanguard. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  18. Published. "BREAKING: Ogunlewe resigns appointment as FUNAAB's pro-chancellor". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  19. Published. "No regrets dumping PDP, says Ogunlewe". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
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