Mr. Jimi Agbaje, the Lagos State Governorship Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has announced a lawyer, Mrs. Haleemat Oluwayemisi Busari, as his Running Mate for the 2019 gubernatorial race.
A statement, Thursday, by the Director of Media and Publicity of the Jimi Agbaje Campaign Organisation (JACO), Felix Oboagwina, said the PDP candidate picked Mrs. Busari following comprehensive consultations with leaders and stakeholders within and outside the party.
“Mrs. Oluwayemisi Haleemat Busari came highly recommended and widely endorsed,” the statement said. “Stakeholders all agree that without any iota of doubt, the Jimi-Haleemat combination is a winning ticket on every count.”
Married to Teslim Olatunde Busari, SAN, Haleemat was born, 1964, to the family of the Late Ahmed Tijani Shehu Giwa, a businessman and Vice President of Jamatul Islamiyya of Nigeria from Epe, and the Late Mrs. Mujibat Abeni Mopelola Giwa (nee Shonibare), a princess of the Kosoko royal family from Isale Eko.
According to Oboagwina, Mrs. Busari will be bringing to the joint ticket her versatility and connections as a professional in corporate governance, as a Muslim activist and as a bonafide daughter of native Lagos.
The law graduate from the University of Lagos is a Director on the board of several blue-chip companies, including: Zain Nigeria Ltd (now Airtel Nigeria, a leading telecommunications company) and First Bank, Sierra Leone.
Her passion for youth development has led her to head and sponsor several projects targeted at assisting young people to build socio-economic capacity at both corporate and social levels.
Haleemat attended Methodist Girls High School, Lagos, after which she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Ilorin in 1986, followed by a Law degree from the University of Lagos in 1990.
Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1991, she returned to Unilag for her LL.M. in 1995, before obtaining an MBA from the Lagos Business School in 2005.
Her legal career began in 1992 when she joined the Irving and Bonnar/Bentley Edu law firm in Lagos and rose to the position of a senior associate, before leaving to join the Honeywell Group in 1999 as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, where she rose to be Head, Group Legal and Regulatory Affairs of the Nigerian conglomerate.
She is an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA).
“Oluwayemisi’s life and beliefs are guided by her strong Islamic faith, which has been her foundation all her life,” the statement said.
According to the release, in her 20s, Mrs. Busari co-founded, as the founding Amira (female head), the Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness (MICA), an organization that provides a network and fellowship platform for young Muslim professionals.