9 things didn’t know about Governor Akinwumni Ambode

Mr Akinwunmi Ambode is the Governor of Lagos State;

For those who have no idea who Ambode is, here are 9 things you need to know about him:

1) Akinwunmi Ambode was born on June 14th, 1963 at the Epe General Hospital, Epe, Lagos. He is the sixth child of ten children born to his late father, Festus Akinwale Ambode and his mother, Christianah Oluleye Ambode. His mother was a business entrepreneur while his father was a teacher.

2)His father died in 1981 after moving to the Lagos mainland area in 1967 when Akinwunmi was still a little boy of four years.

3) He had his primary education at t St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebutte Meta, Lagos, Nigeria in 1969 and proceeded to  Federal Government College, Warri in 197 for his secondary education. In 1974, he graduated from the University of Lagos at the age of 21 after bagging a degree in Accounting.

4) Ambode was a huge sports person during his time in school. He played Hockey and Cricket for his secondary school and he was part of the Bendel State Cricket Team.

 5)  His first job post NYSC was with  Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (now LAWMA) as a Grade II Accountant. He became a chartered accountant at the age of 24.

6) In 1998, he became a beneficiary of the  US Fulbright Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, in Boston University, Massachusetts, USA. This led him to intern in top accounting parastatals in the city of Boston.

7) Between 2005 and 2006, Ambode served as  as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Accountant General of Lagos State.

8)  He quit the civil service in 2012 after 27 years of working with them and he established Brandsmiths Consulting Limited to provide Public Finance and Management Consulting services to government agencies and parastatals.

9) He founded the Laroche foundation in 2012, a non-profit organization aimed at helping and developing leadership and educational skills in young people. The foundation is current overseeing a campaign called ‘The Flags Project’ which aims to put up Lagos State and Nigerian flags in all government schools in Lagos State.