THE MAN SENATOR NURUDEEN ABATEMI-USMAN

Source: thewillnigeria.com

Born on May 6, 1971 to the late Alhaji Umar Abatemi-Usman, one-time Deputy Governor of old Kwara State and Hajia Safiya Abatemi-Usman, Deen, as he is fondly called by family and friends, attended St Louis Nursery and Primary School in Kano between 1975 and 1982, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate. He proceeded to Government Secondary School, Ilorin (GSS Ilorin) in 1982 to obtain his Secondary School Certificate. He holds a B. Eng in Agricultural Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife and Master's degree (Thesis stage) in Water (Hydro and hydraulic) Engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.

Before his foray into politics, he was an accomplished professional with a wide range of experience in engineering, agriculture and management consultancy. Abatemi-Usman spent most of his career developing and implementing complex developmental projects in the private sector. He then spent four years as a Special Assistant to Dimeji Bankole, ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, before he resigned in December 2010 to join the race for Kogi Central seat in the Red Chamber.

Senator Abatemi-Usman represented Kogi Central Senatorial District (2011-2015). In October 2011, four months after his inauguration as a Senator, he was sworn in as a member of Pan African Parliament (PAP), the legislative arm of the African Union (AU).

Abatemi-Usman also held various positions in the National Assembly including: Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs; Member, Senate Committee on Power & Steel; Member, Senate Committee Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Member, Senate Committee Women's Affairs & Youth Development; Member, Senate Adhoc Committee on SURE-P; International Appointment – Member of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).

Over the course of his career, he has undertaken several professional courses including high-level legislative training at the International Law Institute, Washington DC, USA and Akademie Fur Welthandel, Germany. He is widely travelled and actively engages in philanthropic undertakings. He was a delegate at the 57th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, London (2011), CPA Conference, Livingstone, Zambia (2009) and WHO Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethopia (2008).

Abatemi-Usman who has several awards in his kitty as a result of his outstanding performance in the Senate, is one of the 28 aspirants expected to slug it out on Saturday for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the governorship election billed to hold on November 21.

With his eight years outing in the National Assembly, first as special assistant on political matters to former Speaker of House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and later Senator in the Upper Legislative Chamber, it is believed that he has gathered enough experience to be able to take up any higher position.

Here is a man whose record as a Senator has become a standard of performance for legislative representation. He gave a very different approach to leadership as the highest political officer holder in Kogi Central Senatorial District, which saw him attracting various people-oriented projects to the zone. He has, indeed, been described by many as the best Senator ever produced by the central senatorial district of Kogi State.

As the APC gubernatorial primary election holds tomorrow, he is seen by many in the state, particularly those at the grassroots as the man to beat. The party delegates in the 21 local councils of the state are very much impressed with his style of campaign of interfacing and interacting with them directly and giving them room to share ideas with him as partners in the task to free Kogi State from bondage and the chains of backwardness.

Written by Michael Jegede, Media Adviser to Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman

Disclaimer: "The views expressed on this site are those of the contributors or columnists, and do not necessarily reflect TheNigerianVoice’s position. TheNigerianVoice will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here."