Gbenga Ogunniya
Gbenga Ogunniya (born September 1949) was elected Senator for the Ondo Central constituency of Ondo State, Nigeria on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform, taking office on 29 May 1999. Switching parties, he was reelected in 2003 and 2007 on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform.[1]
Gbenga Ogunniya | |
|---|---|
| Senator for Ondo Central | |
| In office 29 May 1999 – May 2011 | |
| Succeeded by | Akinyelure Patrick Ayo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 September 1949 Ondo State, Nigeria |
| Political party | PDP |
Educational Background and Career
Ogunniya earned a BSc in Political Science from Howard University, Washington D.C. and made a career in Marine Transportation.[1]
Elected to the Senate in 1999 and reelected in 2003 and 2007, he was appointed to committees on Senate Services, Police Affairs (Chairman), Niger Delta and Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions.[1] In July 2008 the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Akure nullified Ogunniya's election. Ogunniya appealed the decision.[2] He won.[3] In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that he sponsored a bill to reform the Police Regulatory Board, but rarely contributed to debate on the floor.[4]
In December 2009 Ogunniya and three other House of Representatives members were arrested by the police for allegedly being in possession of three ballot boxes stuffed with thumb printed ballot papers during the re-run election into the Federal House of Representatives for Akoko South West/South East.[5] The police also arrested about twenty thugs who had allegedly been hired by the Chairman of the senate committee from Kogi state, and twenty mobile policemen.[6] The Ondo State Commissioner for Information said the role played by Ogunniya was "unbecoming of men purportedly elected into high offices". A spokesman for the lawmakers said they were not formally arrested, and the ballot boxes had been planted on them.[7]
Ogunniya ran for reelection on the PDP platform in the 9 April 2011 elections, but was defeated by Akinyelure Patrick Ayo of the Labour Party, who gained 113,292 votes to Ogunniya's 41,783 votes.[8]
Family
He has seven children whose names are Gbemisola, Babatunji, Folayemi, Demilade, Oluropo, Opeyemi and Tobiloba.
References
- "Sen. Gbenga Ogunniya". National Assembly of Nigeria. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- Dayo Johnson (2 July 2008). "Ondo Tribunal Sacks Senator Ogunniya". Vanguard. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- "Ogunniya's Victory: The Labourers have laboured in vain". The Lens. 23 January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- "An Improved Senate, But Some Uninspiring Senators..." ThisDay. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- "HURIWA wants Senator Gbenga Ogunniya prosecuted". Point Blank News. 2009-12-06. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- Sunday Kudaisi (6 December 2009). "Ondo Bye-Election - Police Arrest Senator Ogunniya, Three Reps". Daily Champion. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- Sunday Aborisade (7 Dec 2009). "Mimiko, Ogunniya, others trade words on Ondo rerun rerun". The Punch. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- "Collated Senate results". Independent National Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-23.