FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YEMI OSINBAJO BEFORE U #DECIDE 2015: Not many people know his face but his name surely rings a bell, especially in the last few days. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has been mentioned severally in the media as the most favored candidate among those shortlisted for the post of vice president under the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket. With his unveiling as the running mate to the APC presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari, people are now asking questions about Osinbajo’s personality, pedigree and background. 1. He is a Senior Partner in the Law firm of Simmons Cooper Partners, Osinbajo served as the Special Adviser to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria between 1988 and 1992. 2. He was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State in 1999 and re-appointed in 2003 by the then governor, Senator Bola Tinubu. 3. As the Lagos State Attorney General, he fought the then President Olusegun Obasanjo led federal government to a stand-still on the creation of 37 Local Government Development Areas in Lagos State and the withholding of the state’s federal allocation for 16 months. The battle was settled at the Supreme Court in favour of the Lagos State government. 4. Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also commenced the Lagos State justice reform project. 5. A prominent feature of that project was the establishment of the Directorate for Citizens’ Rights (DCR) which provides free legal services and legal representation to indigent citizens of the state. 6. From the Citizens’ Rights directorate came the birth of the Office of Public Defender (OPD) and Citizens Mediation Centre (CMC) which are now independentof the Directorate. This initiative gave a voice to many who would otherwise not have a way to access their rights. 7. Prior to his appointment into the Lagos State public service, Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, was the Head of Public Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos between 1997 and 1999. 8. He is currently the Ethics Adviser to the Advisory Board of the African Development Bank (ADB) and a non-executive Director of Citibank. 9. He has also served in various roles within the United Nations such as the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations, the United Nations African Institute for Crime Prevention, the International Criminal Court for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, the department of Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Peace Operations in Somalia. 10. Osinbajo is Co-founder & Board Member, Convention on Business Integrity and the Justice Research Institute Limited. 11. In 2007, he and his wife, Oludolapo, founded The Orderly Society Trust, a non-governmental organization that is dedicated to the promotion of Christian ethics and orderliness. 12. Osinbajo has authored, co-authored and edited several books including The Unification and Reform of the Nigerian Criminal Law and Procedure Codes; Law Development and Administration; The Annotated Civil Procedure rules of The Superior Courts in Nigeria; and,”Cross Examination: A Trial Lawyer’s Most Potent Weapon”. 13. He pastors the Olive Tree House of Prayer for All Nations, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and lives in Lagos with his wife and three children. 14. A native of Ikenne, the home town of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. 15. Osinbajo was educated at Igbobi College, Lagos, the University of Lagos (LLB, 1978) and the London School of Economics (LLM,1980). He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1979........
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 09:04:28 +0000
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