Femi Pedro

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Olufemi Pedro

Olufemi Pedro (born 29 January 1955 in Lagos) was the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria from 2003 until 2007. Prior to his election alongside Bola Tinubu, he was a part-owner and the Chief Executive Officer of First Atlantic Bank, now FinBank.

Contents

[edit] Personal life and education

Early Childhood

A scion of the renowned Sanusi Adeyinka Pedro family of Bambose Street Lagos Island fame, Femi Pedro was born to late Pa Olajide Pedro a retired officer of the defunct Western Nigeria Marketing Board, Ikeja and late Mrs. Modupe Pedro (née Abayomi) on January 29, 1955. Though not financially endowed, Pa Pedro was widely regarded as a disciplinarian who understood the importance of education, and made it a core value to ensure that attendance of school was a family policy. Consequently, he was enrolled at St. Stephen Primary School, Adeniji Adele in Lagos Island. This brought an end to Femi’s penchant for following Egungun and Igunnu Masquerades around the streets of Lagos with a major determination to graduate into an Eyo masquerade as he and his other childhood friends had the flair for participating in the famous Lagos heritage festival- an event which he loves to watch till this very day.

Education

Educated at St.Stephens primary school, Adeniji Adele Road from 1960 to 1967 where he obtained the First School Leaving Certificate, Femi Pedro subsequently attended the former Ahmadiyya College (now Anwar-U1-Islam College), Agege between 1968 and 1974 where he earned the Higher School Certificate (HSC) after having successfully completed the West African School Certificate in 1972.

Pedro received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from University of Wisconsin–Superior (1976–1978) and a Master's degree in Economics from Wichita State University (1979–1981).

Family Life

He is married to Justice Jumoke Pedro, a High Court Judge in Lagos; they have 4 children.

[edit] Business career

He commenced his banking career in 1982 when he joined the country’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Femi Pedro rose to the post of assistant manager in 1985 and became a research economist the following year. The same year (1986), he was admitted as an associate of the prestigious Chartered Institute of Bankers, London, United Kingdom having successfully completed the professional bankers’ examinations. First City Merchant Bank Ltd (now First City Monument Bank ltd) became his next port of call by 1988, where he rose to become the Executive Assistant to the bank’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and later Deputy Manager and Head of Corporate planning within a period of one year.

Femi Pedro became one of the first set of investors in Guaranty Trust Bank and later took up the role of a Senior Manager at its inception in 1990, where he subsequently rose to the position of Assistant General Manager in 1993. 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).

In January 1998, Pedro ventured into private business as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agro-Corp Ventures, a commodity processing company. The same year (Nov 1998), he was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Comet Merchant Bank (now FinBank), following the acquisition of the bank by a consortium of investors including himself. He served as Managing Director and Part-Owner of FinBank from 1998 to 2003. He was also the Chairman of the First Atlantic Online Limited from 2002 to 2003.

He is currently a director in various business ventures.

[edit] Political career

Femi Pedro was elected as Deputy Governor of Lagos State in April 2003, and was sworn-in alongside Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu the following month. He was recruited primarily due to his Economic background; he was seen as a political neophyte by keen political observers in Lagos, Nigeria.

Femi Pedro is widely regarded as the bedrock of the economic revolution which Lagos (and Tinubu in particular) enjoys today. In his years as the Deputy Governor, Pedro was appointed chairman of Lagos State Revenue Mobilization committee under which the Board of Inland Revenue, the Land Use Allocation Committee, and other revenue generating agencies reported. They embarked on an aggressive revenue drive, restructured, reorganized and re-engineered the Board of Inland Revenue, plugged many loopholes and eventually, the result started to show. His wealth of experience in the banking sector came to fruition as he single-handedly raised the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from 300 Million Naira per month to a staggering 7 Billion Naira per month in the space of eight months. He was popularly referred to as 'Mr. Pedronomics', primarily due to his affinity towards micro and macro-economic policies.[1]

Pedro also introduced and implemented the PSP and waste management model which is thriving in Lagos today.Femi Pedro 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 birth of the BRT. He was given the task of raising funds from the Afrexim Bank based in Cairo to purchase the red Marcopolo buses plying currently plying the streets of Lagos today. Consequently, he came up with the name LAGBUS and with the support of his staff, set up the structure in which the BRT is built upon today.[2]


Aside from leading the Government Economic Team, Femi Pedro also championed the fight against the Federal Government regarding the withheld Local Government Funds in 2003. During the course of his term in office, he was awarded the Yoruba aristocratic title of Otunba by the people of his native Lagos.

[edit] Gubernatorial run

In September 2006, Femi Pedro declared his intention to run for office as the Governor of Lagos State in 2007. Tinubu was initially in support of Pedro's candidacy, but allegedly began to have second thoughts as the campaign season drew closer.

On 13 December 2006, Pedro dumped the Action Congress to declare under the Labour Party, citing gross manipulation by Tinubu to favour a relative of his to become the Governor in 2007. He became the first ever Nigerian to contest for a gubernatorial election under the Labour Party platform. On 30 January 2007, Femi Pedro named a University lecturer, Oluranti Adebule, as his running mate for the April 19 elections. Adebule, who teaches Islamic studies at the Lagos State University (LASU), is from the Badagry Division of the state. Solidarity and goodwill messages also poured in for Pedro from the various stakeholders in the party, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), teachers, pensioners, Hausa and Igbo communities, women's groups, students and youth bodies. He endeared himself to Lagosians with his comprehensive manifesto and various policies, many of which are currently being implemented by the sitting Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola.[3]

In May 2007, Pedro resigned his position as Deputy Governor after citing electoral malpractices in the Gubernatorial elections in which he participated and lost. Today, he continues to champion the fight against wasteful spending in Government, and has preached on the need for transparency and accountability by elected officials in Lagos State. He is a vocal critic of the lekki toll arrangement and the ban of okadas, among other policies.

[edit] 2011 Elections

In September, 2010, whispers began spreading around Lagos State that Femi Pedro may contest the 2011 gubernatorial elections under the PDP platform. Scores of groups have reportedly urged Pedro to declare, including prominent South West leaders and at least one sitting Governor from a prominent Yoruba state. He is rumored to have widespread support and goodwill amongst the PDP hierarchy and party faithful. Pedro has remained silent about his ambitions, but sources close to his camp claim Femi Pedro is very reluctant to throw his hat in the race. He has however committed to having an open, honest and transparent debate with stakeholders about "how to move the state forward in the coming years".[4]

On September 24, 2010, Femi Pedro formally declared his intention to run for the 2011 governorship election in Lagos state on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party.

He made his declaration at the PDP secretariat in Ikeja amidst fanfare and jubilation by his supporters and party members, explaining that his administration would not simply celebrate 100 days in office, but would be committed to improving the living conditions of at least 100 Lagosians a day.

Pedro, who hails from Epetedo, said he had been to every nook and cranny of the state and has since realised that “through clever and constant application of propaganda our people have been made to see hell as paradise. Today, Lagos has become a sad story tale of two stories. I see people driving on pothole-infested roads and sleeping in flooded homes. I see poorly paid teachers, doctors going on indefinite strike and market women forced to pay excessive stall rates.“

He stated that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led government was not doing enough to reduce the suffering of the people and has kept celebrating days in office without sustainable achievements“ and they make people abroad believe that we are living in a paradise in Lagos State.” [5]

He continued: “As such there is need for somebody with integrity that has the love of the people at heart who can deliver the people of Lagos State from poverty, bad roads and bad governance to be the governor come 2011. “I was part and parcel of the administration during the Bola Tinubu era and I know where the problem of the state lies, If I am chosen to run in the 2011 polls, I would help Lagosians to right the wrongs.

“We don’t want a government that simply plants trees all over Lagos anymore. We want a government that sows the seeds that will grow successful and vibrant Lagosians by creating better enabling environment to realise ther dreams,” he said.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/politics/15839.html
  2. ^ http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39685:otunba-femi-pedro-at-55-i-am-fulfilled&catid=36:news&Itemid=702
  3. ^ http://www.tribune.com.ng/31012007/news/news12.html
  4. ^ http://www.thisdayonline.info/nview.php?id=183671
  5. ^ http://www.thisdayonline.info/nview.php?id=183671

[edit] External links

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