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Femi Okurounmu was elected Senator for the Ogun Central constituency of
Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
at the start of the
Nigerian Fourth Republic The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and ...
, running on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform. He held office from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003. Okurounmu was earlier Commissioner of the Ogun State Ministry of Works. After taking his seat in the Senate in 1999, Okurounmu was appointed to committees on Commerce and Economic Affairs. He ran for reelection in 2003, but was defeated by Alhaji
Ibikunle Amosun Ibikunle Amosun (born 25 January 1958) is a Nigerian politician, former governor of Ogun State and two-term senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He first served as an elected senator for Ogun Central district of Ogun State, Nigeria from Ap ...
of the
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PDP) by 52,390 to 111,920 votes. Okurounmu was appointed Secretary General of the Yoruba socio-political group,
Afenifere Afenifere was formed as a socio-cultural organization for the Yoruba people of Nigeria, with Chief Abraham Adesanya as its leader and Chief Bola Ige as deputy leader. Other founding members were Pa Onasanya, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Adegbonmire, Oku ...
. In January 2005 he was chairman of the logistics committee for a conference including Leaders of both the Afenifere and the Yoruba Council of Elders, who had been in dispute since 1999. During a February 2006 public hearing on amendments to the constitution which would allow President
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...
to run for a third term, Okurounmu presented the position of the Afenifere faction led by Rueben Fasoranti, stating that the country should still maintain two terms of four years. He dissociated the Yoruba from Obasanjo's third term agenda, saying it was the work of the President and the PDP. In July 2008, Okurounmu blamed the unrest in the southwest of Nigeria on the politics of self-aggrandizement and selfishness, where politicians seek power only to serve themselves. In January 2009 he said that Afenifere membership was open to all, regardless of political party affiliation, as long as they believe in the Afenifere and Awoist credo. In May 2010 he said that the zoning arrangement in the PDP by which presidents alternate between South and North every two terms was ridiculous, and supported the right of
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
to seek reelection. In January 2010, Okurounmu called Baba Ijo (father of the congregation) of St. Paul's Anglican Church, Sodubi,
Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding are ...
, had reportedly led a revolt of some of the church elders against the presiding Priest. Aggrieved youths sealed off the church gates to prevent worshipers attending the Sunday Service, threatening to lynch Okurounmu, and 15 police had to intervene to prevent the situation from becoming violent.


References

On 1 October 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Femi Okurounmu the head of an advisory committee to prepare for a National Dialogue. Members of the Senate (Nigeria) Living people Ogun State Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians Yoruba politicians 20th-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Nigeria-politician-stub