10 Things You Need To Know About Faleke, The Man Who May Succeed Late Audu
The sudden death of Prince Audu Abubakar, the All
Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in last Saturday’s governorship in
Kogi state, has left many unanswered questions.
One such question is who will succeed him?
The APC candidate who died shortly after the election was leading the
polls with 240,827 votes, against the 199, 514 votes polled by Governor Idris Wada, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the
election inconclusive.
Audu is likely to be replaced by James Abiodun Faleke, his running
mate in the gubernatorial elections but it may not be an easy ride for
him.
Late Abubakar Audu’s running mate, Abiodun Faleke, broke down in tears during the burial.
The APC might have to conduct another round of primaries and Faleke
may be put forward as one of the candidates. If he wins the primaries,
he would get to contest for the Kogi governorship.
The APC may also replace the late Audu with Faleke and pick a running mate for him.
Below are things you should know about Faleke.
1. He was born in Ekinrin Adde, Ijumu local
government area, which is in the old Kabba province, a Yoruba speaking
area of of Kogi state, on December 25, 1959.
2. He attended Abdulazeez Atta Memorial College,
Okene where he got his ‘O’ Levels in 1979. While in school, he was the
house captain of the largest house, Ohimege House.
3. He obtained a Higher National Diploma in Purchasing and Supply Management with upper credit in 1986 from the prestigious Kaduna
Polytechnic in Kaduna state and he received the Best Student award. He
got an MBA from Imo State University in 2003.
4. He was in the volleyball team that represented
the higher institution at the NIPOGA games in 1985 and he won several
medals for the institution.
5. Faleke did his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
programme in Lagos state in 1986/1987 and was the parade commander for
the entire NYSC membership at his orientation camp.
6. In 1992 he wrote the professional examination of
the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) in London and
passed. He is a fellow of the Institute of Public Administration (FIPA).
7. He served as the pioneer executive secretary of Ojodu local government development area from November 2003 to April 2004.
8. In 2004, he was elected as the executive chairman
of Ojodu local government development area and served for two
consecutive terms from 2004 to 2011. During his time as a council boss
in Lagos, Abiodun Faleke was the chairman of Forum 57, a forum of LGA
and LCDA bosses in Lagos state.
9. In 2011, he was elected the federal legislator
representing Ikeja federal constituency in the House of Representatives
and he won re-election in March 2015.
10. In December 2014 Faleke was appointed as the Lagos state campaign coordinator for the Buhari/ Osinbajo campaign group.
