Bamidele emerges leader of 10th senate
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has announced Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti) as the majority leader of the 10th Senate.
Akpabio made the announcement on Tuesday at plenary at 11.29 a.m., after the commencement of proceedings from the Eid-El Kabir break.
Akpabio also announced Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC-Borno) as the Chief Whip; Sen. David Umahi (APC-Ebonyi) as the Deputy Leader; and Sen. Lola Ashiru (APC-Kwara) as Deputy Chief Whip.
Supreme News reports that the Senate adjourned sitting on June 14 for Eid-El Kabir
Akpabio said,“The All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus of the Senate, after consultations, has emerged with their leadership, which will be the fulcrum of commencing other businesses of the chamber.
”I’m happy to announce that by consensus, the Senate Leader is Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, who will be the Majority Leader.
”Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC-Borno) will be the Chief Whip of the 10th Senate; Sen. David Umahi (APC-Ebonyi), by your consent, will act as the Deputy Leader; and Sen. Lola Ashiru (APC-Kwara) will be the Deputy Chief Whip.”
A copy of Bamidele’s citation indicates that he is currently a rankingsenator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District and Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters in the 9th National Assembly; Michael Opeyemi Bamidele is the Founder, Principal Attorney, and Head of Chambers at the Law Office of Opeyemi Bamidele & Associates (with offices in Asokoro District, Abuja, and Lekki Phase 1, Lagos), from where he is at the moment on leave of absence.
Bamidele is a New York Attorney, Member of the 7th House of Representatives, and three-term Member of the prestigious Lagos State Cabinet between 2000 and 2011, when he served as Hon. Commissioner in different Ministries and under two Governors. He had served as the Senior Legislative Aide (SLA) to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 1992, when Tinubu was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Appropriation, and Currency.
He is a lawyer without border, licensed to practice in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court; an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law of the State of New York, USA; and a Notary Public of Nigeria.
Bamidele graduated with honors in 1986 from the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, with a Bachelor of Arts degree and, subsequently, from the University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) Degree with honors in 1990.
After his call to the Nigerian Bar, Bamidele launched into a full-time legal career in 1992. He obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the World-renowned Franklin Pierce Law Center at the University of New Hampshire Law School, Concord, New Hampshire, USA. He specialized in Intellectual Property Law, with a bias in International Patent, trademark, and Copyright Law, including the Licensing of International technology transfers.
A learned counsel of no mean stature, Bamidele is an active Member of the New York and Nigerian Bars, the American Bar Association, and the International Bar Association.
He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Nigeria), the Chartered Institute of Management Consultants, and the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration, Nigeria, among others.
In October 2019, Sen.Opeyemi Bamidele was appointed a Member of the prestigious Body of Benchers in Nigeria. He is a seasoned and multilateral legal practitioner, a civil rights activist, a former Honourable Commissioner for Youth, Sports, and Social Development, as well as an Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy consecutively in Lagos State.
He was a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research in the 7th National Assembly. He also served as the Chairman of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) between July 2011 and June 2015.
In recognition of his significant contribution to the restoration, growth, and development of democracy and good governance in Nigeria, as well as his heroic exploits as a foremost political activist, seasoned legal practitioner, accomplished public administrator, quintessential lawmaker, and consummate politician, the prestigious National Honour of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) was conferred on Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, in October 2022.
