Meet Hon. Abiodun Faleke, Late Abubakar Audu's Running Mate (Photo)

Hon. James Abiodun Faleke was born on 25th December, 1959 in Ekinrin Adde, Ijumu Local Government of the old Kabba province, a Yoruba speaking area of Kogi State, where he had his primary and secondary school education. He attended the Abdulazeez Atta Memorial College, then proceeded to the Kaduna Polytechnic, from where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Purchasing and Supply Management with Upper Credit in 1986. Here, he received the Best Student Award.

Hon. James Abiodun Faleke was posted to Lagos State for his NYSC program in the 1986/1987 service year, and served at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, his place of primary assignment (ppa).

As part of his service to the community, he provided waste bins to assist with waste collection and management in Ikeja LGA during his service year in 1987, and thus got a letter of commendation from the Local Government. This was, perhaps, a sign of things to come, as he would later become an elected Chairman of Ojodu LCDA of Ikeja Local Government Area.

In furtherance of his education and professional career, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with Management as his field of specialization from Imo State University, Owerri. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS), London, and the Institute of Public Administration (IPA).

From 1986 till date, Faleke has worked in different management capacities of procurement, clearing and forwarding, warehousing, distribution and construction. In 1986/87, he worked as the Purchasing Expediter in National Orthopaedic Hospital in Lagos State, and as a Material Manager at Kayo Foods Limited, Ilupeju, also in Lagos State. He then went on to serve as the Purchasing, Clearing and Distribution Manager and Commercial Manager at Tate Industries PLC, Purchasing Manager at Air Liquid PLC, Purchasing Manager at Aluminium Manufacturing Company of Nigeria (ALUMCO) PLC, and finally, as a Commercial Manager at Crown Agents Ltd. from 2000 to 2003.

He was also the Pioneer Executive Secretary of Ojodu LCDA from November 2003 to April 2004, and was elected as the Executive Chairman of the LCDA in 2004. He held this position until 2011, serving for two terms, and doubled as the Chairman of Conference 57, the body of Local Government Chairmen in Lagos State (from 2006-2011). During this period, he also featured on the state’s Electoral Reform Committee and the Governor’s Advisory Committee.

In 2011, he was duly elected to represent the Ikeja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and served as chairman of the House Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values, and as a member of several other committees, including those on Public Procurement, MDG’s, Interior, Public Accounts, Science and Technology, and the House Committee on the Petroleum Subsidy Probe.

He also proposed a number of bills, including the NYSC Act Amendment Bill, which proposed life insurance coverage for NYSC members, a bill prohibiting the sale and use of military uniforms due to the attendant security risks and, still focusing on the nation’s security challenges, he sponsored another motion on the need to shut over 1,400 illegal border routes to curb insurgency.

Hon. James Abiodun Faleke was also the Lagos State coordinator for the Buhari/Osinbajo campaign from December 2014-April 2015.