A very happy birthday to a trailblazer, a goal getter, pace setter, a man with vision, a transformational leader and Icon of our generation, Chief Olusola Oke SAN
You are indeed an excellent example of true grit and determination.
As you celebrate your birthday today, Friday 7th April, 2023, I wish you many more years of joy, greater achievements, good health, divine favour and grace for better upliftment…
CHIEF OLUSOLA ALEXANDER OKE, SAN AT A GLANCE
Olusola Oke was born in Ilogho, a coastal town in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. He attended UNA Primary School, Ode-Ilowo, at age 7, he dropped out of school and became a professional fisherman.
His quest for knowledge compelled him to abandon fishing profession and returned to Methodist Primary School, Ilepete to complete his primary school education and later proceeded to Methodist Secondary Modern School, Ilepete where he graduated in 1976.
He attended Ilaje Grammar School, Atijere and bagged his WASC in 1980. Oke taught briefly as auxiliary teacher at Happy City College Ayetero, Ilaje Local Government and Methodist High School, Okitipupa.
In October 1981, he was admitted to Ondo State School of Arts and Science, Ikare where he was, when the prestigious University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) offered him admission in 1982 to study law. He bagged a degree in Law in 1986 and proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987.
In 1987, he joined Olufemi Lanlehin and Co., a law firm in Ikeja, Lagos, from there, he moved to Okitipupa to establish Olusola Oke and Associates on 14th July 1988. In 1996, he became the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okitipupa Branch. Between 1997 and 2000, he was the Chairman of NBA, Okitipupa Branch. Also, between 1997 and 2000, he was a member of the National Executive Committee of NBA.
As the National Legal Adviser of the PDP, between 2008 and 2012, he practiced law to its fullest and paved a way for equity and constitutionality to prevail unhindered in all the matters he handled.
Today, his law firm has its headquarters in Abuja. He was enlisted for the prestigious title of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, three times and in all the three instances, he made it to the final listing but he was not awarded. He eventually made the list and awarded the prestigious rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, on 7th July, 2017.
His foray into politics started effectively with the formation of IPF in 1982, but developed fully in 1989. He stayed in the course of his law practice until 1991 when he was made Local Government Legal Adviser of the Social Democratic Party, SDP. From 1991 to 1992, he was a member of Board of Internal Revenue in Ondo State. Since then, he has combined politics with his legal practice without necessarily leaving one for the other.
He was elected a member, Federal House of Representatives representing Ilaje/Ese-odo Federal Constituency in 1992. In year 2000, he was appointed into the pioneer board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). At NDDC, his team executed and completed over two hundred and fifty projects.
What he did on the board of NDDC and the experience garnered facilitated his appointment as the Executive Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), another intervention agency, in 2004.
In 2005, he was nominated and served in the National Political Reform Conference. In 2007, he served as a member of the Presidential Technical Committee on Niger Delta. He was appointed the Chairman of the Federal Polytechnic Bida in 2009 and also appointed Chairman, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency between 2009 and 2011.
He was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship candidate in Ondo state in the 2012 gubernatorial election. Olusola oke was a top contender for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the state Governorship election which came up in November 2016 and later decamped to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) after the APC primaries and became the gubernatorial candidate of the party.
Also, in 2020, he was a top contender for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the state Governorship election.
TAIWO GBAMILA
Publisher Coastal Renaissance News
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