Who is Senator Gbenga Ashafa? by Babatunde Adegunju

Senator Bareehu Olugbenga Ashafa is a Lagosian with functional and strategic experience in both public and private sectors. He played leadership role as the Executive Secretary and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands of Lagos State-Nigeria for almost a decade where he created five and resuscitated nine moribund Government Schemes. He pioneered the Electronic Document Management System in the Land Registry and initiated the electronic Certificate of Occupancy recently launched by the Lagos State Government. He raised the revenue base of the Lands Ministry from N1 billion in 2001 to N13.23 billion in 2010 before he was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Lagos East Senatorial District in April, 2011.
He had his Primary and Secondary School Education at Christ Church Cathedral Primary School, Marina, Lagos (1961-1968) and the CMS Grammar School, Lagos, (1973 set) respectively. He trained in Morgan State University, Maryland USA (graduated 1978 Set) and later at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA where he bagged his Masters in Public H. Administration in 1979.
Since his inauguration as a member of the 7th Session of the National Assembly on June 6th, 2011, Senator ‘Gbenga Ashafa has sponsored twelve bills and two motions: Language Bill, Income Tax Holiday Bill, Treaty (Amendment) Bill, Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, National Directorate of Employment (Amendment) Bill, Harmful waste (Amendment) Bill, Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Bill, Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences (Amendment) Bill, Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Amendment) Bill, Advertising Practitioners (Registration, etc) (Amendment) Bill, Banks Employee, etc Declaration of Assets (Amendment) Bill. Motions on the Deteriorating Service of GSM Providers and the Imminent Collapse of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos. He has also co-sponsored many other Bills and Motions with other Senators on the floor of the Senate among which are Social Housing Bill, Prohibition of Same Sex Marriage Bill, Lagos State Special Economic Assistance Bill, Motion on 2011 Lagos Flood, Motion on the solution to Terrorism in Nigeria, Motion on the Creation of unemployment Data and Job Centres in the Country and Motion on Rivers State crises among others.
Senator ‘Gbenga Ashafa is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development and a Member of the Senate Committee on Gas Resources, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs and Senate Committee on Senate Services. He was the General Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria now the Treasurer of the All Progressives Congress Senate Caucus at the National Assembly.
He was instrumental to the execution of 76 Federal Constituency Projects worth over N584 million in his Senatorial District between June 2011 and January 2014.
In addition to this, as at January 2014, over N385 million has been channelled through the vehicle of his Constituency Empowerment: ‘Gbenga Ashafa Trust Fund Endowment, which has succeeded in touching the lives of members of his constituency in the following specific areas: Education, Youth Empowerment, Agriculture, Health and Community Development. These programmes and projects revolved around his Four-Cardinal Point Agenda for the Senatorial District, namely Effective Peoples’ Representation, Youth Empowerment, Educational Enhancement and Sustainable Agricultural Development.
He is happily married to Folashade Ashafa, a retired Director of the Federal Civil Service. They are blessed with children and grand children.