President Buhari attends SDG side event at UNGA. Buhari Here Buhari, Imo State Governor, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire launches the SDGModel during the high-level Side event of the UNGA74 taking Place in New York. PHOTO; SUNDAY AGHAEZE. SEPT 24 2019.
Since her entrance into the stormy terrain of politics 28 years ago,she has never looked back.Even though the terrain was dominated by men,her background from a family of leaders led by her late father,Prince Jimoh Kareem-Laka Orelope, has imbued in her courage,focus and determination to serve the society and mankind at- large to further etch the name and contributions of her father who encourage her, has been her guiding principle and philosophy.
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Her father was a follower and one of the staunch disciples of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo ,founder of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria(UPN) and this explains her steadfastness drawing from the fathers fountain of knowledge and consistency in politics.
Today,as she marked her 60th birthday,it was also an occasion to mark her almost three decades in politics starting from her membership of the state house of assembly in ,1992,during the I’ll fated third republic as a member representing her native Alimosho constituency 1 between 1991-1993.
However,with the abortion of the third republic, she ventured into business during the military interregnum.
with the return to politics in 1998,she was appointed electoral
Commissioner in Lagos state Independent electoral commission(LASEIC) and held the position until 2003, when she was appointed as the honourable commissioner for women affairs and poverty alleviation(wapa) by then Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and held the position for a record eight years making her one of the longest serving commissioners during that regime.
It is worthy of note that it was at the WAPA ministry that she displayed and practically used her love for the grassroot and the unemployed as she set up about fourteen vocational development centres situated in all the five divisions of the state. The poverty alleviation ministry blaized the trail in empowerment in the state as many were trained in various vocations in all the centres created and well equipped in the state.
It was also to her credit that the Child Rights Law was first domesticated in the state in 2009 before it was later accepted nationally.
The implementation of the law was done in all the schools in the state to curb child abuse while cases of domestic violence also got prompt resolution and attention while she held sway at the ministry.
it is to appreciate and recognise her exploits in this strategic area of home and family management that the Babatunde Raji Fashola administration gave her the Women affairs portfolio during his second term between 2011 and 2015.
With the expiration of her tenure in 2015,she was again appointed on march 7, 2016, as Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goal(SSA,SDG) by President Muhammad Buhari.since then, she has made tremendous strides in pushing the country towards the attainment of the SDG goals.
In his congratulatory message to her,President Muhammad Buhari, saluted her courage in delving into politics and governance and taking interest in development issues,”thereby setting the pace for many women to actively participate in state and national issues”.
The President commend her in bringing her wealth of experience working at the grassroots to her position adding that the recent renewal of her appointment comes with a lot of expectations ,”as the country repositions to bring down the level of poverty and strengthen the economy for sustainable growth”.
As Princess herself use to say,”reward for hardwork is more work”,she has nothing but to do more with renewed passion for her age- long goals to fight poverty;touch the lives of the grassroots she has always identified with in all her three decades of service through politics.
She is a member of the Awori welfare Association of Nigeria,Association of Lagos state indigenes and a graduate of social works.
Princess Adefulire is married and blessed with successful children whose field of specialisation covered medicine,law,engineering and technology.She is also a mother to many she has touched by turning their life around through her social works for which is often referred to as Iya Alanu-,the compassionate mother.
By Tunde Abatan
