Meet Mr Olabiyi Durojaiye, Newly Appointed 83 Year Old NCC Chairman
Mr Olabiyi Durojaiye is the newly appointed Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) chairman by President Buhari. What makes this 83 years old special to bag this appointment? This is the question been raised by so many Nigerians. Today, we will get to know those who are occupying the various board positions and profiling the new NCC boss courtesy of Wikipedia.
First, names for the positions of Executive Commissioner and Non-Executive Commissioners of the NCC were also submitted to the Senate for approval. The president also nominated Sunday Dare as the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management.
Those nominated as Non-Executive Commissioners are: Aliyu Sa’idu Abubakar (North East), Clement Omeiza Baiye (North Central), Okoi Ofem Obono Obla (South South), Ezekiel Yissa (North Central) and Ifeanyi Ararume (South East).
Olabiyi Durojaiye: Brief Bio
Birth and early career
Durojaiye earned a BSc (Economics) London, and an LLB, London. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1979, and is a Barrise Supreme Court of Nigeria. He also graduated from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.
He worked for 35 years in the Nigerian public sector, including 28 years as a Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Mint. He worked with the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.A and the City University London between 1964 and 1982.
Political career
Durojayi was an elected member of the 1988/89 Constituent Assembly. In 1992 he was a candidate to run for President of Nigeria on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), losing to M.K.O. Abiola. Abiola’s subsequent election as president was quashed by General Ibrahim Babangida, leading to a return to military rule.
In December 1996 Durojayi was arrested by the military regime of General Sani Abacha, and was imprisoned for 560 days and mistreated while in jail. A June 1997 report stated the 63-year-old lawyer was reportedly in poor health and suffering from high blood pressure caused by his treatment. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience and campaigned for his release.
Durojaiye was an elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999-2003). After taking his seat in the Senate he was appointed to committees on Judiciary, Establishment (Chairman) and Special Projects. In December 2002 he recommended a life jail-term for anyone who perpetrated election fraud.
He won the AD primaries to represent the party in the Ogun East constituency in the 2003 elections, although he was threatened with legal action by Chief Adamo Olayinka Yesufu, a rival for the nomination. In the event, the PDP candidate Tokunbo Ogunbanjo won the election
Durojaiye’s wife Florence Olufunso Adejoke died on 6 June 2009, aged 72, in Ikeja, two months after she and her husband had marked their 50th wedding anniversary. She was survived by her husband, six children and many grandchildren. In a March 2010 interview Durojaiye, now in his late 70s, spoke out against the covert way in which President Umaru Yar’Adua’s illness was being handled, with the President smuggled back into Nigeria at night and no reports issued on his condition.
Here is all we need to know about the newly about Mr Olabiyi Durojaiye, the newly appointed NCC chariman. What is your thought on his appointment? Do you think President Buhari made the right choice?
