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Babajide Sanwo-Olu: 9 facts about the man who could be next Governor of Lagos
When Babajide Sanwo-Olu showed up at the national headquarters of the APC to pick up his governorship nomination form, he said he “is a fully grown man with loads of experience”.
Sanwo-Olu, who presently sits atop as the Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), may have never run for public office before, but he is definitely not a political neophyte, neither is he a novice in governance and the public sector.
Today, the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee primary election panel for Lagos, has declared Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the winner of Tuesday’s governorship primary in the state.
Here are 7 things you should know about Sanwo-Olu:
1. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is 53 years of age.
2. Sanwo-Olu was a renown banker before politics and a life in public office came calling.
Between 1994 and 1997, he served as Treasurer at former Lead Merchant Bank Plc.
Sanwo-Olu was also Head, Foreign Money market and Deputy General Manager at United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Sanwo-Olu was also Deputy General Manager, Divisional Head, at First Inland Bank, Plc (now First City Monument Bank).
3. Sanwo-Olu was Chairman of Baywatch Group Limited– a multifaceted company with interests in construction, property development and human capital development; First Class Group Limited, a cooling, power and maintenance solutions provider, among others.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu picks his APC governorship nomination form
4. Sanwo-Olu is a graduate of the University of Lagos. He holds a B.Sc and an MBA in Surveying from the University of Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu attended the Kennedy School of Government, USA; the London Business School as well as the Lagos Business School (LBS).
5. In 2003, then Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro appointed Sanwo-olu his Special Adviser on Corporate Matters.
Sanwo-Olu would later become acting Commissioner, Economic Planning and Budget.
In 2007, as the Tinubu era wound to a close, Sanwo-Olu was appointed Commissioner for Commerce and Industry.
Between 2007 and 2015, Sanwo-Olu served as Babatunde Fashola’s Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions.
6. Sanwo-Olu is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Training and Development (NITAD).
He has won several awards, which include the symbol of excellence award from the Civic Enlightenment Association of Nigeria, a gold mentor award from the National Association of Nigeria Nurses & Midwives (NANNM), a platinum award from the Lagos State Public Service Club and the 2009 best in human capital development award from the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
7. Since his transition from the private sector to the public sector in 2003, with his appointment as Special Adviser on Corporate Matters to Lagos Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro and subsequently as Special Adviser (Corporate Matters) to former Governor Bola Tinubu before becoming a full Commissioner for Establishment in 2007, Sanwo-Olu has surely laid the solid groundwork for this moment. The University of Lagos alumnus, who later became Lagos Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Commissioner for Budget and Planning and Commissioner for Establishments and Training, at different times, also has an enviable background in the private sector as a distinguished board room guru and close to ten years of exemplary banking experience.
9. Sanwo-Olu is married with children.
