Meet Our Guests and

Distinguished Panelists

@ the 1st Gallery Colloquium on

Budgetary Reforms

organized by OrderPaper.ng on

September 26, 2016 in Abuja

Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Distinguished Guest of Honour

Yakubu Dogara is the Speaker of

the House of Representatives. He

was first elected into the House in

2007 making the current tenure

his third consecutive mandate to

represent Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-

Balewa Federal Constituency of

Bauchi State. A graduate of Law

(LLB Hons.) from the University

of Jos, Dogara was called to the

Bar in 1993 and then later obtained a Masters (LLM) in International

Commercial Law at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland.

In addition, he has taken courses at Oxford University and Harvard

Kennedy School, USA. During his close to a decade in the House of

Representatives, Dogara has sponsored many motions and numerous

bills and served on many committees including chairmanship of

Customs and House Services Committees in the 6th

and 7th

Assemblies respectively. A recipient of several recognitions and

awards, Dogara is married with two children.

Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, Chief Presenter Senator Ike Ekweremadu, CFR is the

Deputy President of the Senate, Federal

Republic of Nigeria, and former Speaker

of the Parliament of the Economic

Community of West African States,

ECOWAS Parliament. Ekweremadu has

been consecutively elected into the Senate

in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015 and is

serving a historic third consecutive tenure

as the Deputy President of the Nigerian

Senate, having been so elected by his

colleagues in 2007, 2011, and 2015.

A native of Mpu, Aninri Local

Government Area of Enugu State, Senator

Ekweremadu holds both Bachelor of

Laws and Master of Laws degrees from

the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN.

He also holds a Ph.D. in Law, University

of Abuja in addition to Leadership Certificates from Harvard University and

Oxford University. He is a career legal practitioner and was an Associate

Lecturer at the UNN, where he taught Constitutional Law and Labour Law

before venturing into politics.

He held several elective and appointive positions before coming to the

Senate, namely, the Legal Adviser, National Republican Convention, Enugu

State, 1990-1993; pioneer Chairman of Aninri Local Government Area,

Enugu State, 1997-1998; Chief of Staff, Enugu State Government House

from 1999-2001; and Secretary to Enugu State Government, 2001-2002. But

he holds close to his heart his days as the Chairman of his age grade

association at the age of 10 and many years of community leadership as the

town union President in his native Mpu town, which served as part of his

tutelage in politics and leadership

Ikeoha, as his people and associates fondly call him, has brought these

versatile grassroots experiences to bear on his work at the Senate, initiating

many Bills and Motions that address the challenges of governance and the

common

man. His Bills include the Civil Process Servers Bill, Private Detectives and

Investigators Bill, Federal Land Registry (General Provisions) Bill as well as

the State of the Nation Address Bill and River Basins (Amendment) Bill both

of which have been passed by the Chambers of the National Assembly. His

co-sponsored Bills include Nigeria Police Act (Repeal and Re-

enactment) Bill, Abolition of Discrimination Against Women Bill; National

Human Rights Commission Act (Amendment) Bill, and the Legal Aid Act

(Amendment) Bill. Key among his solely sponsored Motions include

―Absence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria‖, ―The Surging

Incident of Kidnapping and Hostage-taking in Nigeria‖; ―Outbreak of

Hostilities in Jos‖, ―The Menace of Gully Erosion and Landslide in the South

East‖.

He has also chaired many important Committees in the Senate, including the

Senate Committee on Constitution Review, which he has headed for a record

two terms. Senator Ekweremadu has received recognitions and awards for

piloting the first successful amendment to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

The amendment resulted in elaborate electoral reforms that laid the

foundation for the widely applauded 2011 and 2015 general elections. As

Chairman of the Joint Steering Committee of the Policy Analysis and

Research Project, PARP, of the National Assembly from 2007, he effectively

steered the Project to a resounding success, resulting in its transformation

into the National Institute for Legislative Studies, NILS. He is the lead author

of the book ―Constitutional Review in an Emerging Democracy: The

Nigerian Experience‖.

He is a recipient of several awards, honours, and commendations, including

the Nigerian National Honour of the Commander of the Order of the Federal

Republic (CFR) while his people of the South East of Nigeria have conferred

several traditional titles on him in recognition of his contributions to the

development and championing of the interest of the geopolitical zone. This

includesOchiagha Ndigbo conferred on him by Eze-Nri, the custodian of

Igbo cultures and traditions as well as Ikeoha Ndigbo conferred on him by

South East Council of Traditional Rulers. Senator Ekweremadu is married to

Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu, Ph.D. and they are blessed with four children.

Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, CFR, Chairman of the Event

Aminu Waziri Tambuuwal is the

Governor of Sokoto State. Hitherto, he

served as Speaker of the House of

Representatives between 2011 and 2015.

He is a graduate of law from Usmanu

Danfodio University and a member of

the Bar. Tambuwal had an early

exposure to the legislature as Personal

Assistant to the then Senate Leader,

Senator Abdullahi Wali. He left that job

to contest for and won the House of

Representatives seat for Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency of Sokoto

State in 2003 and remained a member of the Green Chamber till 2015. He

served the House as Minority; Deputy Chief Whip and eventually attained

the position of Speaker on his third consecutive tenure as Member of

Parliament. It is to his credit that the 7th Assembly was devoid of the

controversies, banana peels and jostles for power that characterized the

tenure of his predecessors. He is an alumnus of Kennedy School of

Government, Harvard, USA; Oxford University; Stanford Graduate School

of Business, USA; and Tulane University, USA. Tambuwal has received

several awards, recognitions and chieftaincy titles including the Commander

of the Federal Republic (CFR); and the Mutawalle of Sokoto Caliphate.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, CON, Keynote Speaker

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma is Nigeria’s

Minister of Budget and National

Planning. Until his appointment as

Minister, Senator Udoma was the

Chairman of UAC of Nigeria Plc, as well

as Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and until

2000, was a director of the Economic

Summit Group (NESG). He also served

for four years as the part time Chairman

of the Nigerian Securities & Exchange

Commission (SEC) after prior service as

chairman, Presidential Committee on

Waivers, Incentives and Concessions.

Udoma was elected twice into the Nigerian Senate (1999 and 2007) where he served

among others as Vice Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee (1999 – 2001), Chairman

of the Appropriation Committee (2001 – 2003), and Senate Chief Whip (2004 –

2007). He piloted the Bill to Abrogate the On-shore/Off-shore Dichotomy in Revenue

Allocation through the Senate and till it was signed into law by the then President,

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in 2004. Senator Udoma is a graduate of Oxford

University, England where he obtained a B.A. (Law) degree in 1976 and

subsequently, a postgraduate B.C.L. degree in jurisprudence (1977). His legal

expertise includes company law, banking & finance, securities law and capital market

transactions. He is a recipient of several honours including the national Honour of

Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). Udoma was represented at the event by

the Director of Economic Growth at the Ministry of Budget and National Planning,

Mr. Kayode Obasa.

Eze Onyekpere, Guest Speaker

Eze Onyekpere is a lawyer,

called to the Nigerian Bar 28

years ago. He is a specialist

in development law

including fiscal governance,

human rights and

constitutional reforms. He is

the acclaimed father of the

Nigerian Civil Society

Budget Movement. Over the

last twenty eight years, he

has worked on electric

power sector reforms,

privatisation, gender and

trade policy and

liberalisation of education. He has tremendous experience in the area of

public finance management reforms involving fiscal and legal issues and

economic governance. The assignments undertaken are in areas of fiscal

responsibility, procurement and audit reforms, budget analysis, etc. He has

also worked on economic and social rights including the rights to

education, health, housing and social security. He has led debates on the

constitution reform process on the minimum core obligation(s) of the state

in economic and social rights and fiscal challenges in a federal system. He

has also worked in economic policy and legal issues for poverty reduction.

He is the author of over 30 publications and over five hundred media

articles. He served on the Editorial Board of the Independent newspaper

and currently writes a weekly column every Monday in the Punch

Newspaper and on Wednesday in Daily Independent Newspaper.

Anthony Ubani, Distinguished Moderator of Panel Session

Anthony Ubani has over 25

years of leadership experience

in building strong program

development platforms, driving

qualitative governance and

leadership projects in Nigeria.

An alumnus of Manchester

Business School, Manchester

University; University of

Lagos; Lagos State University;

University of Lagos and

Nigerian Institute of

Journalism. He also received

other continuous training

development from the Center

for Parliamentary Studies, UK; Mediation Training Institute, UK; and

Mississippi Consortium for International Development, USA. Ubani who

currently serves as Chief Executive Officer at Africa Leadership

Advantage, had prior to this time, served as Director General, Peoples

Democratic Institute (PDI); Ag. Country Director, Mississippi Consortium

for International Development, (MCID); Executive Director, Campaign for

A New Nigeria (CANN); Country Director, Global Office Nigeria and

Program Director, Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), etc. In addition to

membership of several professional associations, Ubani is also a Fellow of

the Chartered Institute of Administration and Professional Member of the

Institute of Directors, London. In 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo

commended Ubani as ―a young Nigerian who epitomizes the extraordinary

creative and productive capacities that come naturally to the

quintessential Nigerian.” And in 2015, he also received an Excellence

award for contributions to the education industry in Nigeria. Ubani is a

highly sought after and respected thought leader in leadership and

governance programming. He is married with children.

Senator Shehu Sani, Distinguished Member of Panel

Comrade Shehu Sani is the Chairman,

Senate Committee on Local and

Foreign Debts and Vice Chair of the

Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was

elected on March 28, 2015 to represent

Kaduna Central Senatorial District.

Sani attended Kaduna Polytechnic,

where he earned his HND in

Agricultural Engineering in 1993. He

has a rich history in activism and civic

advocacy began early in his student

days and has stretched through

different epochs including the period of

the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections when he led Northern pro-

democracy and Civil Society groups into the mainstream of the Nigerian pro-

democracy and civil rights movements for the first time in Nigeria’s post-

civil war era. Between 1999 and 2003 he served in several government

boards, while concentrating the bulk of his time and energy to strengthening

and entrenching civil rights/civil society advocacy in Nigeria, and serving

humanity through his charity organization, Hand-In-Hand Africa, a pan-

African civil society response to humanitarian crises. Sani He has received

numerous cultural, literary and professional awards and has authored ten

books, and several plays.

Senator John Owan Enoh, Distinguished Member of Panel

John Enoh represents Cross River

Central Senatorial District and is

currently Chairman, Senate

Committee on Finance. An alumnus

of the University of Calabar, he

graduated as the Best Graduating

Student in the Department of

Sociology class of 1988. He holds an

M.Sc (Hons) Demography; Post

Graduate Diploma in Management

(PGDM); and MBA. Enoh began his

legislative career in 1999 when he was elected into the Cross River State House of

Assembly where he served as Minority Leader and Chairman, Committee on

Information. By 2003 he was elected a member of House of Representatives and

served as Deputy Chairman, Committee on Culture & Tourism (2003 – 2005);

Deputy Chairman, Committee on Appropriation (2005 – 2007). Upon his re-

election into the House in 2007, he became Chairman, Committee on Finance, a

position he held for four years after which he got appointed Chairman, Committee

on Appropriation by the time he returned to the Green Chamber in 2011. John

Enoh has attended several courses on capacity building in aid of his legislative

work from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University (Executive Education);

and Stanford Graduate School of Business, amongst others. Sen. Enoh was listed

as one of Nigeria’s 50 most Outstanding Legislative Icons (1999 – 2010).

Dapo Olorunyomi, Distinguished Member of Panel

Dapo Olorunyomi is the

Publisher/Chief Executive

Officer of Premium Times,

one of Nigeria’s most

respected online newspaper

horned in high-end

investigative journalism with

great impact across Africa and

beyond. Mr. Olorunyomi is a

recipient of the International Editor of the Year Award and winner of the

Freedom to Write Award from PEN (West); and co-founded the News

Magazine in Lagos. He had also worked as Senior Fellow, Africa, at the

Washington DC offices of Panos Institute, and then as the Nigeria Project

Director for Freedom House in the 1990s and early 2000 respectively.

Olorunyomi, also a winner of the Press Freedom Awards from

the National Association of Black Journalists in the United States, was

enterprise editor at the defunct Next Newspapers, and founded the Wole

Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ). He also worked as

Director and chief of staff at the Economic and Financial Crimes

Commission (EFCC) from 2005 until 2008, under former Chairman, Nuhu

Ribadu.

Lawal Abubakar Garba, Distinguished Member of Panel

Lawal Garba represents Yola North,

Yola South, Girei Federal Constituency

of Adamawa State and is Chairman,

House of Representatives Committee on

Constituency Outreach. He graduated

from the Ahmadu Bello University,

Zaria with LLB (Hons.) in 1987 and the

Nigerian Law School, Lagos after

which he was called to the bar in

November 1988. He subsequently

obtained his Masters Degrees in

Business Management (MBA) and Laws (LLM) respectively at the

University of Maiduguri. He worked in a Legal firm of S. A. Nasir &

Co. as a private Legal Practitioner, Ministry of Justice of the defunct

Gongola State, as a State Counsel, Adamawa Investment & Property

Development Company, Yola as Assistant Company Secretary/Legal

Adviser, Bank of the North Limited, Head Office, Kano; Sigma

Pensions Limited, Abuja as Head of Compliance and Internal Control.

He served as Managing Director/CEO – Adamawa Homes and

Savings Limited, (Primary Mortgage Bank) Yola, from 2008 to 2014.

Kingsley Ogundu Chinda, Distinguished Member of Panel

Kingsley Chinda

represents Obio/Akpor

Federal Constituency

and is Chairman of the

Public Accounts

Committee of the

House of

Representatives. He

holds a law degree

from Rivers State

University of Science

& Technology, Port

Harcourt and was

called to the Bar to begin many years of private legal practice. He had

previously served as Legal Adviser to Social Democratic Party (SDP);

Grassroot Democratic Movement (GDM) and People Democratic Party

(PDP) at various times in Rivers State. He was also appointed as the

Commissioner for Environment in Rivers State, a position he held until

December, 2010 when he resigned his appointment to contest for election

into the House of Representatives. He is a returning member of the House.

Mac Imoni Amarere, Distinguished Member of Panel

Amarere is the current

Managing Director Daar

News Services (AIT and

Raypower) since August

20, 2014. Mr. Amarere had

previously served as

Executive Director, News

and Executive Director of

International Operations of

Daar Communications Plc. His journalism career started as a reporter

with Nigeria Television Authority, Benin in 1980 and he became an

Editor for the Observer in 1991 and then Editor for the Sunday

Publication in 1992. Mac was a Commissioner in the National Human

Rights Commission and rapporteur on the environment and Niger

Delta. He has attended several courses and workshops both within and

outside the country. He has several papers and publications on the

media and human rights. Mr. Amarere is a graduate of the University

of Benin from where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in

Political Science in 1985 and a Master of Science degree in

International Relations in 1988. He is currently on the Board of

ActionAid Nigeria.

Sen. Chris N. D. Anyanwu, Distinguished Member Of Panel

A two-term Senator, Chris N. D.

Anyanwu represented Imo East Senatorial

district effectively from 2007 to 2015.

Before veering into politics, she was a

renowned journalist, of NTA fame and

first female Nigerian to set up a national

weekly magazine, TSM and again, first

female Nigerian to set up a private radio

station, Hot fm. While at the Senate, she

was one of the most vibrant and articulate

Senators of her time. She was once the

Vice-Chairman of Senate Committee on

Army and Defence and in the 7th Senate,

the Chairman of Senate Committee on

Navy.

Senator Chris Anyanwu had her

university education at the University of

Missouri, Columbia, and Florida State

University, USA, where she obtained a

Bachelors Degree in Journalism and Masters Degree in Mass Communication

respectively. She also attended Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education on

Leadership for the 21st Century, 2008; Strategic Leadership for Women by IMD

Switzerland, 2009; CPA UK Conference on International Migration and Human

Trafficking, 2009; the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, 2012; the

Oxford High Performance Leadership Program by Said Business School,

University of Oxford, 2012 and Influence & Negotiation Strategies Program in

Stanford University, 2013.

A prolific writer and author, she has published six books, amongst which are The

Days of Terror - a political novel on Nigeria’s historic encounter with military

dictatorship, Power Sharing in Nigeria - a book highlighting the imbalance in

power equation in Nigeria, and The Lawmakers Federal Republic of Nigeria.

She is the founder of Spectrum Broadcasting Company, which owns a chain of

radio stations in Nigeria: Hot fm Abuja, Hot fm Owerri and Hot fm Asaba.

Barr. Victor Muruako

Victor Chinemerem Muruako is the

Acting Chairman of the Fiscal

Responsibility Commission (FRC).

A graduate of Law from the Imo

State University (now Abia State

University Uturu), he attended the

Nigerian Law School, Lagos and

was called to the Nigerian Bar and

admitted as a Solicitor and advocate

of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in

1993. His working career spans

engagements at AdApalm Nigeria

Limited Ohaji Imo State (1989),

M.I Ahamba (Iwuoha Chambers)

(1993), Legal officer, National

Fertilizer Company (NAFCON)

Onne, Rivers State (Dec 1993 –

October 1994), Resident Counsel, Amity Chambers Port-Harcourt River

State (1994 -1996), Managing Solicitor V.C Muruako & Associates

(Ako Chambers) Owerri, Imo State. He was elected Vice Chairman

Owerri West Local Government Council, Imo State, Transition

Committee Chairman Owerri West LGA 2003 – 2004, and Executive

(elected) Chairman of Owerri West LGA 2004 – 2007. In January 2008,

he was appointed Special Assistant (Legal Matters) to the then Deputy

Speaker, House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Usman Bayero Nafada; and

was reappointed in that Position in the House when Rt. Hon. Emeka

Ihedioha CON was elected as the Deputy Speaker. He continued in this

Position until he was appointed Commission Secretary, Fiscal

Responsibility Commission in February 2012. In December 2013, then

President, Jonathan appointed him Acting Chairman of the Fiscal

Responsibility Commission.

Chido Onumah, Head, Team of Rapporteurs

Chido Onumah has worked for

over two decades as a journalist,

rights activist and media trainer

in Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, India,

the USA and the Caribbean. He

has been involved for more than

a decade in media training for

professional journalists as well as

promoting media and information

literacy in Africa. He is currently

a doctoral candidate in

Communication and Journalism

at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain and

coordinator of the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy

(AFRICMIL), Abuja, Nigeria.

Onumah has worked as Director of Africa programmes, Panos

Institute, Washington, DC, U.S.A., helping journalists in West Africa,

as well as the Caribbean, report in depth on issues that are frequently

underreported or misreported — issues such as HIV/AIDS,

environmental degradation, and ethnic and religious conflicts. He was

educated at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, as

well as Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, where he

earned an MA in journalism. He was associate editor of Weekly

Insight newspaper, and assistant editor of African Agenda magazine

both in Accra, Ghana. He served as coordinator, West African Human

Rights Committee, Accra, Ghana, and correspondent for African

Observer magazine, New York, and AfricaNews Service, Nairobi,

Kenya.

Between 2006 and 2008, he served as pioneer coordinator of the

crime prevention unit (Fix Nigeria Initiative) of the Economic and

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria, working on a civil

society anti-corruption agenda for the country, and in partnership with

the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism developed

programmes on ethics and investigative reporting for Nigerian

journalists. Between 2001 and 2002, Onumah volunteered for the

London Cross Cultural Learner Centre, London, Ontario, Canada,

working on integration and provision of information for refugees and

new immigrants to Canada. Since 2005, he has been a volunteer for

the World Computer Exchange (WCE), Hull, Massachusetts, USA,

seeking donations of used computers from corporations, universities,

and non-profit organizations, and assisting in recruiting community

organizations, universities, and secondary schools in Africa that

benefit from the services of the WCE.

Onumah has earned a number of awards, including the Clement

Mwale Prize for courage in journalism, AFRICANEWS SERVICE (Kenya)

1997; Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) Award for excellence

and courage in journalism (Nigeria), 1999; Alfred W. Hamilton

Scholarship (Canadian Association of Black Journalists), 2001;

William C. Heine Fellowship for International Media Studies

(Canada), 2001; and the Jerry Rogers Writing Award (University of

Western Ontario, Canada), 2002.

Onumah is the author of We Are All Biafrans (2016), Nigeria is

Negotiable (2013) and Time to Reclaim Nigeria (Essays 2001-

2011) 2011. He has edited books on various subject, includingMaking

Your Voice Heard: A Media Toolkit for Children & Youth

(2004); Anti-Corruption Advocacy Handbook (with Comfort Idika-

Ogunye) 2006; Youth Media: A Guide to Literacy and Social

Change (with Lewis Asubiojo) 2008; Understanding Nigeria and the

New Imperialism(with Biodun Jeyifo, Bene Madunagu, and Kayode

Komolafe) 2006; and Sentenced in God’s Name: The Untold Story of

Nigeria’s “Witch Children” (with Lewis Asubiojo) 2011.

Oke Epia, Chief Host Mr. Oke Epia is the Founder/CEO of

OrderPaper.ng, Nigeria’s premier multi-

media company dedicated to reporting the

Parliament and providing platforms for

citizens’ engagement with the National and

State Assemblies of Nigeria. He had served

as Special Adviser on Media to the Deputy

Speaker of the House of Representatives

between 2011 and 2015 where he

coordinated media and public relations for

the principal and ultimately, contributing

towards a positive image and public

relations profile for the House of

Representatives generally. He had

previously worked as Special Adviser with

the Ministry of Information, Government of

Delta State between 2007 and 2011 where

he played both advisory and implementation roles in the management of official

communications and supervision of information gateway channels, including

broadcast, print and social media channels of the Government. Before his foray

into public service, he worked at ThisDay Newspaper, one of Nigeria’s leading

national dailies where he was groomed in active journalism and in the process

gained sufficient knowledge, versatility, and reputation for industry in the

profession for almost a decade.

With a first degree in Political Science and Masters of International Law and

Diplomacy at the post-graduate level both from the University of Lagos,

Nigeria, Oke has varied experiences in media, public communications and

international relations. He also holds a post-graduate Diploma in Public

Diplomacy from the prestigious University of Southern California (USC), USA.

He has made presentations to and participated in several professional and

academic fora both in Nigeria and internationally. These include the 2006

international conference by the Centre for the Study of Globalization and

Regionalization (CSGR) of the University of Warwick, UK; and the 2007

Global Leaders’ Summit in South Africa; among others.