Ganiyu Solomon
Encyclopedia
Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon (born 19 December 1959) was elected Senator for the Lagos West constituency of Lagos State
, Nigeria
, taking office on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the Action Congress
(AC).
.
Solomon attended Oke-Ona Grammar School, Abeokuta
, Ogun State
.
He obtained a B.Sc in Political Science from the University of Lagos
, and went into a private IT services business. Later he went into the property business, before entering politics during the regime of General Sani Abacha
.
He was elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly on the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) platform in 1998, but did not take his seat before Abacha's death. During the return to democracy in 1999 with the Nigerian Fourth Republic
, Solomon was elected chairman of Mushin
Local Government Area of Lagos State on the Alliance for Democracy
(AD) platform.
In 2003 he was a contender to be AD Senate candidate for Lagos West, but was defeated by the incumbent Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi
. His supporters greeted the primary results with violence, and governor Bola Tinubu
was unable to leave the scene of the vote for several hours as the mob battled with police outside.
Solomon ran instead for the federal House of Assembly for Mushin Federal Constituency 1 and was elected.
(AC) platform for the Lagos West constituency.
After taking his seat in the Senate, he was appointed to committees on Works, Sports, Rules & Business, Integration & Cooperation and Capital Markets (Chairman).
In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that he had sponsored bills on amendment of the National Directorate of Act, Electronic Commerce, Whistleblowers Protection, Institute of Capital Market Registrars and Elderly Persons Centre, and had sponsored or co-sponsored ten motions.
He was appointed Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market.
His GOS Foundation provides assistance in skills acquisition, educational development, micro-credit, healthcare and poverty alleviation.
In the run-up to the April 2011 elections, Solomon was unopposed in his bid in the Action Congress of Nigeria primaries to run for reelection.
He was reelected on 9 April.
Lagos State
Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, taking office on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the Action Congress
Action Congress
The Action Congress of Nigeria , formerly known as Action Congress , is a classical liberal Nigerian political party formed via the merger of the Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several other minor political parties in September 2006. The party...
(AC).
Birth and early career
Solomon was born on 19 December 1959. His father, Alhaji Rafiu Ishola Solomon, was politically influential as a contemporary of the first civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef JakandeLateef Jakande
Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, was a journalist who became governor of Lagos State in Nigeria from 1979 to 1983, and later was Minister of Works under the Sani Abacha military regime .-Background:...
.
Solomon attended Oke-Ona Grammar School, Abeokuta
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....
, Ogun State
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in South-western Nigeria. It borders Lagos State to the South, Oyo and Osun states to the North, Ondo State to the east and the republic of Benin to the west. Abeokuta is the capital and largest city in the state...
.
He obtained a B.Sc in Political Science from the University of Lagos
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos - popularly known as Unilag - is a federal government university with a main campus located at Akoka, Yaba and a college of medicine located at Idi-Araba, all in Lagos, Lagos State, southern Nigeria...
, and went into a private IT services business. Later he went into the property business, before entering politics during the regime of General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
.
He was elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly on the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) platform in 1998, but did not take his seat before Abacha's death. During the return to democracy in 1999 with the Nigerian Fourth Republic
Nigerian Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic is the republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999 it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and 1983 and suffers many of the same problems, such as multiple...
, Solomon was elected chairman of Mushin
Mushin, Nigeria
Mushin is a suburb of Lagos, located in Lagos State, Nigeria, and is one of Nigeria's 774 Local Government Areas. It is located 10 km north of the Lagos city core, adjacent to the main road to Ikeja, and is a largely a congested residential area with inadequate sanitation and low-quality housing....
Local Government Area of Lagos State on the Alliance for Democracy
Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria)
The Alliance for Democracy was a progressive opposition political party in Nigeria. It was formed on September 9th 1998. At the 2003 legislative elections, 12 April 2003, the party won 8.8 % of the popular vote and 34 out of 360 seats in the Nigerian House of Representatives and six out of...
(AD) platform.
In 2003 he was a contender to be AD Senate candidate for Lagos West, but was defeated by the incumbent Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi
Tokunbo Afikuyomi
Tokunbo Afikuyomi was elected Senator for the Lagos Central constituency of Lagos State, Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the Alliance for Democracy platform...
. His supporters greeted the primary results with violence, and governor Bola Tinubu
Bola Tinubu
Bola Ahmed Tinubu was elected Senator for the Lagos West constituency in Lagos State, Nigeria in 1993, just before a military take-over in December 1993. After the return to democracy, he was elected governor of Lagos State, holding office from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007...
was unable to leave the scene of the vote for several hours as the mob battled with police outside.
Solomon ran instead for the federal House of Assembly for Mushin Federal Constituency 1 and was elected.
Senate career
In April 2007, Solomon was elected to the Senate on the Action CongressAction Congress
The Action Congress of Nigeria , formerly known as Action Congress , is a classical liberal Nigerian political party formed via the merger of the Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several other minor political parties in September 2006. The party...
(AC) platform for the Lagos West constituency.
After taking his seat in the Senate, he was appointed to committees on Works, Sports, Rules & Business, Integration & Cooperation and Capital Markets (Chairman).
In a mid-term evaluation of Senators in May 2009, ThisDay noted that he had sponsored bills on amendment of the National Directorate of Act, Electronic Commerce, Whistleblowers Protection, Institute of Capital Market Registrars and Elderly Persons Centre, and had sponsored or co-sponsored ten motions.
He was appointed Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market.
His GOS Foundation provides assistance in skills acquisition, educational development, micro-credit, healthcare and poverty alleviation.
In the run-up to the April 2011 elections, Solomon was unopposed in his bid in the Action Congress of Nigeria primaries to run for reelection.
He was reelected on 9 April.