Bukola Saraki

Abubakar Bukola Saraki (b. 19 December 1962) was elected governor of Kwara State, Nigeria in 29 May 2003, holding office for two terms. In the April 2011 elections, he was elected Senator for Kwara Central, succeeding his sister, Gbemisola Saraki-Forowa. He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Saraki's father, Olusola Saraki, is a former senator of Kwara State.

Background

Bukola Saraki was born on 19th December 1962. He attended King’s College, Lagos from 1973-1978, and Cheltenham College, Cheltenham, London from 1979-1981 for his High School Certificate. He then studied at the London Hospital Medical College of the University of London from 1982 to 1987, when he obtained his M.B.B.S (London). He worked as a Medical Officer at Rush Green Hospital, Essex from 1988-1989. He was a Director of Societe Generale Bank (Nig) Ltd from 1990-2000. He was appointed special assistant to the President on Budget in 2000.^[1] Ceremonially, he also serves as a tribal nobleman of high rank in his capacity as the Turaki of the Ilorin Emirate.

Political career

Dr. Bukola Saraki contested and won the gubernatorial election of April 19, 2003 in the State under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He ran again in 2007, and won again.^[2]

In the January PDP primaries for candidate for the Kwara Central Senate seat, the winner was Alhaji Isiaka Gold. However, a rerun primary was held after Gold withdrew, and Saraki was elected with 1,044 votes, ahead of Mallam Yonus Abdulrahman who won 13 votes.^[3] In the April elections, he won with 78,799 votes, followed by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate Oloriegbe Ibrahim Yahaya, who polled 53,058 votes, and Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) candidate Hajia Rukayat Issa with 32,499 votes.^[4]

References

External links

• Official site
• Facebook Page
• Twitter Profile
• YouTube Channel