Biography
Who is Hakeem Muri-Okunola? Biography, Age, Parents, Education, Career, and More
Who is Hakeem Muri Okunola?
Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola is the principal personal assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. His appointment was announced on September 18, 2023.
Hakeem was a former Personal Assistant to Tinubu when he was governor of Lagos state. Until his appointment, he served as the Head of Civil Service of Lagos state.
Biography
Hakeem Muri Okunola is a lawyer by profession. He has over 25 years of experience in law and public service.
Age
Hakeem Olayinka Muri-Okunola was born on January 7, 1972. He is 51 years old as of January 7, 2023.
Tribe
He was born in Lagos Island, an area in Lagos, a southwestern state in Nigeria. Hakeem Muri-Okunola is a Yoruba by tribe.
Parents
He is the first son of late Justice Muritala Okunola.
Education
He started his education at ADRAO International School and Ireti Primary School for his primary school.
He subsequently attended The Nigeria Navy Secondary School, Lagos, between 1982 and 1987 for his secondary school education. He proceeded to Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State where he studied Law and obtained his Bachelor’s degree and Nigeria Law School between 1989 – 1995.
‘HMO’ has he is fondly called by friends and associates
He went further to obtain his Masters degree in International Business Law (LLM) from The Queen Mary and Westfield College,University of London, England between 1998 – 1999.
Career
During the period between 1996 and 1999, he served as an Associate Solicitor with Adepetun, Caxton-Martins and Agbor, Barristers and Solicitors.
He was thereafter appointed as the Company Secretary / Legal Adviser at Ibile Holdings Limited, the Investment Company of Lagos State Government between 2000 and 2003.
Mr. Muri-Okunola was then appointed Personal Assistant to the then Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, between 2003-2005.
Thereafter, Mr. Muri-Okunola was appointed as The Executive Secretary, Land Use and Allocation Committee (LUAC), a position he held between 2005 -2011.
He was later elevated to the rank of Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Public Service and his first deployment was The Lands Bureau in the Governor’s Office where he steered Land Administration in the state from 2011 to 2015.
Hakeem would later be deployed to the Ministry of Youth and Social Development as Permanent Secretary in 2015.
He was sworn-in as the 21st Head of Service by the then-Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on the 31st of December, 2018.
He held the position until September 18, 2023, when his appointment as principal secretary to the President was announced.
Muri-Okunola in a statement announced he would be stepping down from his role as the 21st HOS of Lagos while also retiring from the State Civil Service.
“I informed Mr Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of my voluntary retirement from the Lagos State Civil Service after nearly five years of being your Head Of Service,” Muri-Okunola said.
“It has been a really fulfilling journey and experience, one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
Meanwhile, there has been hint of his appointment since July 2023.
Controversy
Allegedly ‘secret plan’ to succeed Babajide Sanwo-Olu
During the build up of the 2023 Lagos governorship election, there were rumours that Hakeem Muri-Okunola was nursing the ambition of replacing his principal and incumbent governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Some political forces and state elders were reportedly backing him to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2023.
Muri-Okunola however denied the report in a statement. He said; “I reiterate my support for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his administration’s THEMES Agenda – the six-pillar development plan that is the compass for his projects and policies.
“I am fully focused on carrying out my duties as head of service of the Lagos state government and taking the Public Service to greater heights”, he wrote.
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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