Gbemisola Ruqayyah Saraki (born 3 May 1965) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician who has served as the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development of

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 ...

since 6 July 2022. She served earlier as the Minister of State for Transportation from 2019 till she was moved by the President to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in 2022. A former senator, she was elected to represent the Kwara Central Senatorial District in the year 2003 under the platform of the People's Democratic Party. She was elected into the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 1999 representing Asa/Ilorin West Federal Constituency, Kwara State. She is a sister of former Senate President of Nigeria (8th Assembly), Bukola Saraki.

Early life and education

Saraki was born on 3 May 1965 to Abubakar Olusola Saraki and Florence Morenike Saraki, her father was a leading senator in the

Second Nigerian Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

(1979–1983) and father of politics in Kwara State. Her brother,

Abubakar Bukola Saraki Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, (born on 19 December 1962) is a Nigerian politician. He was the 13th President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2015 to 2019 and Chair of the 8th Nigeria National Assembly. He wa ...

was governor of Kwara State, Nigeria from 29 May 2003 to 29 May 2011 and was the President of the 8th Senate of Nigeria. She attended the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. She did her

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

at the Nigeria Bank for Commerce and Industry,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

. She worked for the Societe Generale Bank (Nigeria) with the post of the Head of Money Markets and later as Head of Domiciliary Accounts. From 1994 to 1999, she was Executive Director of Ashmount Insurance Brokers, Lagos.

Political career

Saraki was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 1999 under the umbrella of the All People's Party (APP). She ran under the umbrella of the People's Democratic Party, (PDP) for the senate in 2003 and won the seat, representing the Central Senatorial District of Kwara State. She re-contested in 2007 and won again, serving as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for eight years (2003–2011). In 2011, she contested in the gubernatorial election of Kwara State under the ACPN party, losing election to PDP's

Abdulfatah Ahmed Abdulfatah Ahmed (born 29 December 1963) is a Nigerian banker and politician. He is the former Governor of Kwara State. Background Ahmed was born on 29 December 1963 in Share, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. He attended Gove ...

. As a legislator, she was a member of several committees. At the Senate, Saraki chaired the Senate Committee on National Planning, Poverty Alleviation and Economic Affairs. She also acted as Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. Saraki was also a returning member of the

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

Parliament. Saraki defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015. In February 2016, Saraki was appointed by President Muhammed Buhari as the Pro Chancellor and Chairperson of the

Federal University A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the C ...

, Otuoke,

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yena ...

. On 13 February 2017, Saraki was also appointed as one of the 16-member committee to re-negotiate its 2009 agreement with the

Academic Staff Union of Universities The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a Nigerian union of university academic staff, founded in 1978. ASUU is an offshoot of the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT) which was established in 1965. At that time, NAUT con ...

(ASUU). On 21 August 2019, President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...

appointed her Minister of State for Transportation and on 6 July 2022, she was appointed Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saraki, Gbemisola R. Kwara State 1965 births Living people Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Yoruba women in politics Alumni of the University of Sussex Nigerian Fula people Gbemisola 21st-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian women politicians

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References