Biography
Heineken Lokpobiri is a Nigerian politician and former Senator representing the Bayelsa West constituency.
Lokpobiri served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development under Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration.
His name was included in the ministerial nominees by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a list which was presented by Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Tinubu‘s chief of staff and the immediate past Speaker of the House of the Representatives, to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on August 2023.
Age
Heineken Lokpobiri was born on March 3, 1967. He is 56 years old as at 2023.
Wife and children
He is married to Susan Lokpobiri. Susan is a twin born into a family of nine. She was born in Lagos, grew up in Lagos, but from Bayelsa state.
Narrating her growing up, Susan in an interview said; “I schooled in Lagos and then went to Rivers State in 1985 with my siblings. We finished our secondary school in Lagos and then went to the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where I studied Banking and Finance. I never worked; I really wanted to work as a banker because I loved banking. All the while, I was staying with my uncle in Lagos, he was a banker and it was that drive that pushed me to study banking.
“After this, I got married to a handsome man. His name is Heineken Lokpobiri, and my husband said ‘no work, take care of the home.’ I said ‘no, it can’t be’ and I couldn’t believe that I would not work.
“All the same, I ended up doing business. That was when my business skills came in and I am now into empowering others.”
The couple reportedly has four children.
Education
Heineken Lokpobiri received an LL.B (Hons) in 1994 from Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, BL February 1995.
Expert in Environmental Rights and Environmental Law, holds a Doctorate degree Ph.D. from Leeds Beckett University, UK in 2015.
Political career and controversies
Lokpobiri was a member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2003, and speaker of the house from June 1999 – May 2001.
First senate term
He was elected to the Nigerian Senate for the Bayelsa West constituency in 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was appointed to committees on Sports, Public Accounts, Police Affairs, Niger Delta, and Millennium Development Goals.
Second senate term
Lokpobiri ran for reelection as Bayelsa West Senator in the April 2011 elections on the PDP platform, and was initially declared the winner. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission then withdrew their decision, declaring that the election was fraught with “widespread irregularities”.
A few minutes after the announcement, Lokpobiri was arrested by State Security Service operatives. Lokpobiri challenged the INEC decision. The INEC had planned to rerun the election in Sagbama and Ekeremor local governments on 28 April 2011, but a high court in Yenagoa issued an order restraining the INEC from conducting the election until the challenge had been resolved.
Lokpobiri took his seat in the Senate on 29 May 2011 and was appointed chairman of the committee on Water Resources and a member of the committee on Solid Minerals.
In August 2011, it was reported that the police were not prosecuting Lokpobiri and others suspected of electoral offenses since the INEC had to approve any such move. The INEC said that it did not have the powers to prosecute offenders.
In March 2012, Lokpobiri introduced controversial legislation that would make it harder for labor unions to call a strike.
A ballot would be required before industrial action could be started.
Lokpobiri said, “This helps to achieve an affirmative consensus on union members through the instrumentality of ballot. Fairness, transparency and accountability are also given pride of place in the scheme of things.”[16] Other senators disagreed. Senator Joshua Dariye said, “The most democratic institution in the world is organized labour, they are the only hope of the society, if we stampede them, I fear we will be calling for anarchy.
In 2015, he decamped from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC. He was later appointed by the Buhari-led APC as a minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development”.
His nomination as a minister was marred with lots of allegations ranging from claims of DSS arrest to purchase of ministerial slot. He however denied all of the allegation and eventually passed the senate screening.
At the end of the tenure in 2019, he claimed he had told Buhari that he would not want to return as a Minister in his cabinet.
Lokpobiri will later declare his intention to contest for the Bayelsa state governorship election.
He was defeated in the primary by David Lyon, a result he publicly criticised and contested in court.
Lokpobiri said he wondered why the election will be conducted in a hotel against the wish of the party.
In 2020 Lokpobiri was among the 14 members of the APC in Bayelsa suspended for alleged anti-party activities.
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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