Festac Icon is back and better. This time around we bringing to you , a past LGA Chairman ,Comrade Adewale Ayodele
Comrade Adewale Adebowale Ayodele was born in February 19, 1975 to the Adewale family. His father was born into the Adewale Olomiyete family of Ipele in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo state while his mother was born into the Festus Akinwumi Clark family (First Postmaster from Sierra Leone) of Wellington Villa in Lafiaji Area of Lagos Island Local Government, Lagos.
His maternal great-grand father was one of the returnees from Saro Clan of Freetown in Sierra Leone. He came back to Lagos in the 18th century after the colonial adventurers took them away.
On arrival he got married to Princess Matilda Boyo of Itsekiri Kingdom. They were blessed with four lovely children; amongst whom was the first Ayodele, who was the first and only son.
He too got married to a Princess named Remilekun Damiana Oloto, daughter of the then king Moses Oloto, the Oloto of Oto in Oyingbo area of Lagos.
He started his education at St. Christopher Nursery and Primary School, Lagos, in 1977. In 1979, he attended Universal Primary School I (UPE) Festac Town, Lagos where he completed his primary education in 1985.
He proceeded to Amuwo Odofin Boys Secondary School, Mile 2, Lagos, where he completed his Junior Secondary School, and moved to the prestigious St. Gregory’s College, South-West Ikoyi, for the concluding part of his secondary education, where he obtained his Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in 1992.
He later gained admission into Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos in 1997 where he bagged his B Sc. in chemistry.
Ayodele Adewale In his university days, given his disposition for an ideal society, he ventured into students unionism, and quickly became a frontline student unionist as a two-term member of the parliament before rising to become the president of Lagos State University Students Union at his 200 level, and later, the Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students, (NANS) and even contested for the post of the president of the association.
Given his penchant for justice, equity and fairness, he started taking active part in several civil society organizations after school.
He is a member of the late Dr. Beko Ransome Kuit-led Joint Action Forum (JAF), member of the Prof. Wole Soyinka-led Citizen Forum (CF), was Secretary of the June 12 Coalition and stakeholders under the chairmanship of the late Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti, mobilization and liaison officer for the late Chief Anthony Enahoro-led PRONACO, founder of the Centre For The Defense of Democracy, (CFTDD), amongst others.
Comrade Ayodele Adewale has attended several capacity building programmes including the United Kingdom Trade & Investment/British Expertise-organized Master Class on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in London.
Comrade Ayodele Adewale is a believer of Dr. Martin Luther King (Jnr.) active and non-violence civil actions, as well as, the Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of non-violence civil resistance.
He has read and imbibed the doctrines of many socio-political icons including, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Prof. Jadesola Akande, and many other non-violence advocators.
He also has political mentors such as, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln. He is a great believer in social change through advocacy works, capacity building and networking, and mass campaign for re-orientation of the Nigerian masses.
COMRADE Ayodele Adewale is the immediate past Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Council. He was certainly the youngest of all the LG chairmen and women in 2008 when he was first elected. He was re-elected in 2011 for second term..
He is happily married to Princess Zainab Adetola Adewale, and their family is blessed with two children, Michael and Mary Adewale.
His efforts at repositioning the society has earned him several commendations and awards from far and wide, totaling eighty-nine, some of which include, BEST ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN 2009, by the Federal Ministry of Environment, BEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON HEALTH CARE DELIVERY FOR 2008/2009 by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, JAM FEAST 2009 AWARD as the Foremost Local Government in Youths Educational Development by the Lagos state Ministry of Education, 2011 HEALTH MERIT AWARD as best local government on the delivery of health care service, by the Lagos state Health Service Commission, BEST LGA ON HEALTH MANAGEMENT INFORMTION SYSTEM AWARD 2011 by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, GOLD AWARD 2011, by the Nigerian Bar Association, Badagry Division, APPRECIATION AWARD 2012, by the Lagos state Community Development Advisory Council, AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE 2012, by the Lagos state Governor’s Office Correspondents Press Corps as the best performing Lagos state local government chairman, AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2012, by the Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, Lagos state branch, MERIT AWARD 2012, by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Lagos state branch, CRAN AWARD FOR EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP 2012, by Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria, AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2012, by the National Council of Women Society, Lagos state, to mention a few.