Fatai Akinade Alhaji

Background

Fatai Akinade Akinbade was born in April 1955 in Ogbaagbaa, a town in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area.

Education

He studied at Saint James Anglican Primary School, Ogbaagba (1964–1969), then at Catholic Commercial Secondary Modern School, Iwo (1970–1973).

Career

He was a contender to become the People"s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for governorship of Osun State in the April 2011 elections. He is an Owu prince. Fatai"s father was a drummer, and he was trained to follow that trade.

Between 1973 and 1974 he worked as a pharmaceutical salesman in Lagos, before returning to study at Catholic Technical College, Ile-Ife (1975–1978). He qualified as a Civil Engineer.

Akinbade joined the Osun State government, working for over sixteen years under three military administrators and then under the civilian governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

In 2003 he was appointed Secretary to the state by Olagunsoye Oyinlola. In 2004 Fatai Akinbade was chosen as the leader of the Party in the Iwo Federal Constituency. Akinbade announced his plan to run in the PDP primaries for state governor in February 2010.

Eventually fourteen others announced their candidacy.

In an interview in March 2010 he rejected the argument that it was the turn of Ife/Ijesha to present the next governor of the state. In June 2010 his bid was given public support by several traditional rulers in the Ife region of the state, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade.

However, Akinbade"s bid was opposed by party leadership. They directed all the state council chairmen to back Senator Iyiola Omisore, whose election as Senator for Osun East had been annulled in October 2009.

The April 2011 election did not take place.

Aregbesola was to serve for the next four years.

Achievements

• In November 2010 the Federal Appeal Court, Ibadan declared that the April 2007 election of Olagunsoye Oyinlola was invalid, and in his place declared that Rauf Aregbesola of the Action Congress of Nigeria was the winner.

Membership

Akinbade was appointed a member of the board of Delta Steel Company in Aladja, Delta State, and was Chairman of the company"s Finance and Multipurpose Committee.