Yakubu Dogara
Right Honourable Yakubu Dogara | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria | |
| Assumed office 9 June 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Aminu Waziri Tambuwal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 26, 1967 |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Political party | All Progressives Congress |
| Relations | Married |
| Children | Two |
| Residence | Abuja |
| Alma mater | University of Jos |
| Occupation | Legislator |
| Profession | Legal Practitioner |
| Website | http://yakubudogara.com.ng/ |
Yakubu Dogara (born 26 December 1967) is a Nigerian politician who has been Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria since 2015. In the House of Representatives, he represents Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-Balewa Federal constituency of Bauchi State. He is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Early life and education
Yakubu Dogara was born to Yakubu Ganawuri and Saratu Yakubu on 26 December 1967. He began his education in 1976 at Gwarangah Primary School in the then Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Upon graduation in 1982, he proceeded to the Bauchi Teachers’ College for his secondary education, and obtained a Grade II Teachers’ Certificate in 1987. In 1988, he went on to the University of Jos, Plateau State, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB Hons.) degree in 1992.
From 1992 to 1993, Dogara was a student at the Lagos campus of the Nigerian Law School and was called to the bar in 1993. He later obtained a Masters (LLM) in International Commercial Law at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland.[1]
Dogara also attended a course on Managing and Leading Strategic Change in 2006, the Oxford University Course on Negotiation in 2013, and a course on Leadership in Crisis at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2014.
Professional career
He first took up employment in April 1988 as a teacher at the ATBU Staff School in Bauchi. In 1993, during the mandatory National Youth Service Corps, he served at NCCF, Akwa Ibom state. Upon completion of the NYSC programme in 1994, he went into private legal practice until 2005 when he was appointed Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Transport.
He held this position until 2006, when he decided to contest to represent the Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-Balewa constituency at the Federal House of Representatives. His bid proved successful and he has been a member of the House since 2007.
House of Representatives
Dogara has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2007. His legislative interests include tenancy, regulating monopolies, company law, and intellectual property.[2] He has sponsored many bills and undertaken several assignments, some of which are mentioned below;
Committee memberships
Between 2007 and 2011, Dogara chaired two House committees, namely the House Committee on Customs and Excise, and the House Services Committee. During this period, he was also a member of the House committees on Judiciary, Capital Markets and Institutions, Foreign Affairs, Rural Development and Power, among others.
During the 2011-2015 dispensation, he served as Chairman of the committee on House Services and Welfare, and as a member of others including Judiciary, Land Transport, Labour, Employment and Productivity, Steel Development, and Legislative Budget and Research.[3]
House activities and assignments
Dogara has also served on panels and adhoc committees such as;[4]
- Chairman, Nigerian Customs Service Probe Panel
- Chairman, Adhoc Committee on Composition and Pigmentation of Cement in Nigeria
- Chairman, House Adhoc Committee on Disbursement of Public Funds by the Bank of Industry
- Member, House Contract Scam Probe Panel
- Member, Hijack of fishing vessels and Maritime Security Probe Panel
- Member, House Adhoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft
- Member, House Adhoc Committee on Constitutional Review
Bills sponsored
In 2010, Dogara sponsored the Corporate Manslaughter[5] and the Data Protection Bill. These were followed by Federal Competition Commission Bill in 2011.
In 2013, he sponsored a bill for an act to amend section 143 of the Nigerian Constitution in order to make the process of removal of the President and the Vice President (on charges of misconduct) less ambiguous.[6] In the same year, he also sponsored bills on Public Interest Disclosure,[7] and Hire Purchase.[8]
Motions sponsored
Dogara has sponsored many motions throughout the duration of his legislative career, some of which bordered on;
- An alleged concession agreement between the Ministry of Finance and a technology firm which was signed in secrecy during the government transition period[9]
- The indiscriminate granting of waivers, exemptions and concessions by the Federal Government[10]
- The need for the Central Bank of Nigeria to implement the cashless policy in phases based on the availability of the requisite infrastructure.[11]
- Urgent need for both Houses of the National Assembly to activate their constitutional powers under section 58 (1) (5) of the 1999 Constitution in relation to bills over which the President has failed to exercise constitutional responsibilities and powers under section 58 (1) and (4) of the Constitution.[12]
Professional affiliations
Dogara is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Nigerian Institute of Management, the Chartered Institute of Mediators and Conciliators, the Cyber Bar Association and the Social Policy Association. He is also an associate member of the Institute of Environment Management and Assessment, and the World Jurist Association, among others.
He also serves as the Secretary of the Board of Trustees and Legal Adviser to FAcE-PAM, an NGO operating in Bauchi State.
See also
References
- ^ "Those Who Want to be Speaker". This Day Live. This Day Newspapers. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Official Webpage of Hon. Dogara Yakubu". Nigerian National Assembly.
- ^ "Those Who Want to be Speaker". This Day Live. This Day Newspapers. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ^ Ameh, John. "Capital Market Probe: Old Problem, New Investigators". Punchng.com. The Punch Newspapers. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
- ^ "Corporate Manslaughter Bill will Check Companies' Deadly Sloppiness - Rep. Dogara". Daily Tust. Daily Trust. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
- ^ "House Seeks to Ease Impeachment of President, VP". This Day Live. This Day Newspapers. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
- ^ "House of Representatives Federal Republic of Nigeria Order Paper" (PDF). National Assembly. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ^ "House of Reps Order Paper Tuesday 4 June, 2013" (PDF). Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ^ "Reps Probe Concession of Ports". The Nigerian Voice. NBF News. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "N276B: House Begins Probe of All FG's Import Waivers, Concessions". The Nigerian Voice. thewillnigeria.com. November 24, 2011.
- ^ Ndiribe, Okey (June 28, 2013). "Reps urge CBN to Implement Cashless Policy in Phases". Vanguard.
- ^ Nzeshi, Onwuka. "House Moves to Override Jonathan's Veto on Bills". This Day Live. This Day. Retrieved November 8, 2013.