Rotimi Adebari

Rotimi Adebari (born 1964, Okeodan, Ogun State) is a Nigerian born Irish politician. He was elected as the first black mayor in Ireland.

He fled Nigeria in 2000, and made claim for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution - however his application was rejected due to insufficient evidence he had personally suffered persecution . He gained residency in Ireland under the Irish Born Child scheme (since repealed).

He and his family settled in County Laois. In 2004, he was elected as a city councilor in local elections. In June 2007 he was elected as mayor of Portlaoise Town Council (9 members), with support from Fine Gael (2 seats) and Sinn Féin (1 seat).

He completed his masters degree in intercultural studies at Dublin City University .

Controversy

In late 2007 media reports in the Irish Mail and the Laois Nationalist questioned how Adebari claimed refugee status in Ireland when the first country he arrived in after fleeing Nigeria was France. It is also claimed that he worked in the London underground a year before entering Ireland. It has been reported that the London Underground employee who made the original claims has now pledged to get union documentation and afterdavitts from 50 "former co-workers" of Mr. Adebari. Mayor Adebari feels the allegations made do not require further response.

Some residents in Portlaoise also question the claim that he suffered religious persecution in Nigeria, based on the fact that he visited his home to accept an award for becoming Mayor of Portlaoise.