Olusola Obada

Olusola Obada (born Olusola Idowu Agbeja on June 27, 1951) is a Nigerian politician and lawyer by profession.[1] She served as the Deputy Governor of Osun State from 2003–2010, as Nigeria's Minister of State for Defence from 2011–2012 and then as Nigeria's Minister of Defence from 2012–2013 under the Cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan.[2]

Olusola Obada
Minister of Defence
In office
July 2012 – September 2013
Preceded byHaliru Mohammed Bello
Succeeded byAliyu Mohammed Gusau
3rd Deputy Governor of Osun State
In office
May 29, 2003 – November 27, 2010
GovernorOlagunsoye Oyinlola
Personal details
Born
Olusola Idowu Obada

(1951-06-27) June 27, 1951
Ilesa, Osun State
NationalityNigerian
Political partyPeople's Democratic Party (PDP)
Spouse(s)Babatunde Obada
Alma mater
Occupation

Early life and education

Born into the Agbejanlabofa family of Obodi in Ijeshaland on June 27, 1951, Olusola completed her basic education at UMC Demonstration School, Ibadan and her secondary school education at Queen's School, Ede, Osun State.[3] She is an alumnus of Watford College of Technology, Watford, United Kingdom where she studied Advertising Administration before proceeding to the University of Buckingham, Buckingham, United Kingdom to study Law and subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar in 1986.[1]

Career

Private sector

Olusola began her career as Advertising Officer with Nigeria Airways before leaving the company to work as Managing Partner in Olusola Agbeja and Co. in 1986.[4] In 1990, she established Iron Gate Finance and Trust Company Limited, a privately owned finance and investment company where she served as Managing Director.[5] In 1996, Olusola was employed as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of Materials Management Services Limited and later rose to become the company's Managing Director.[5]

Politics

In 2003, Olusola was elected as Deputy Governor of Osun State with Olagunsoye Oyinlola as governor until on November 27, 2010 when she vacated the post.[6] In January 2011, Obada was appointed into Directorate position, covering the South-West of Nigeria for the Goodluck and Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation. In July 2011, following Jonathan's victory in the Presidential elections, Obada was appointed Minister of State for Defence by Goodluck Jonathan, and then served in Jonathan's cabinet as de facto Defence Minister until a major reshuffle in September 2013.[7] On March 6, 2014, she was appointed by Goodluck Jonathan as one of the top five Nigerian elder-statesmen in the 2014 National Conference, Nigeria.[8] On 29 September 2014, Goodluck Jonathan honoured her with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) national award.[9] On 2 January 2015, she was appointed by Goodluck Jonathan into a Directorate position for his 2015 presidential re-election campaign.[10] On May 6, 2015, she was appointed Chairman of the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma Governing Council, one of the last appointments made by out-going President Goodluck Jonathan.[11]

Personal life

Olusola is married to Babatunde Obada with whom they have four children. She is a traditional chieftain who holds about five traditional titles including those of the Erelu of Ijeshaland, Eyaloje of Argidi of Atoko, and the Yeye Asiwaju of Ibodi.[5][12]

References
  1. Ekunkunbor, Jemi (27 June 2009). "Helping people in need has enrinched me- Erulu Dr. Olusola". Vanguard Newspaper. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  2. "What becomes of Jonathan's women?". The Nation Newspaper. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. Osun State (Nigeria). Ministry of Information and Women Affairs (2004). Osun State Executive Council. Ministry of Information and Women Affairs, Osun State.
  4. "Jonathan's Several Women". The Nigeria Today. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  5. "The Ministers and their Profiles". The Source Magazine. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  6. Ronke I. Ako-Nai (8 March 2013). Gender and Power Relations in Nigeria. Lexington Books. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-0-7391-7779-2.
  7. Tukur, Sani; Usman, Talatu (11 September 2013). "Cabinet Reshuffle: Jonathan appoints Wike interim Education Minister; Maku to oversee Defence". Premium Times Newspaper. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. "Full List of Delegates to the Nigeria National Conference". CNN. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. "Federal Government releases list of 2013/2014 national honours recipients". Vanguard. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  10. Tukur, Sani; Usman, Talatu (2 January 2015). "Full List of Jonathan's Campaign Officials: Directorate and Committee Levels". Premium Times Newspaper. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  11. Tyessi, Kuni (11 September 2013). "Jonathan Appoints Obada, Gbenga Daniel, Chairmen Governing Council Of New Federal Varsities". Leadership Newspaper. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  12. Raw Materials Update. Raw Materials Research and Development Council. 2005.

Bibliography
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