Hon. Bisi Kolawole is a Nigerian business mogul and politician. He is a former member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly from 2007 to 2011 before becoming serving as erstwhile Governor Fayose’s Commissioner for Environment from 2015 to 2018. Due to Hon. Kolawole’s diligence and transparency in that capacity as a commissioner won the trust of Ayo Fayose, which in turn become pitched him as the anointed candidate of the former governor under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State.
Born in 1956 to Efon-Alaaye parents from the Meyolanu Dynasty, his father, High Chief Ezekiel Kolawole was a former High Chief Obaloja, a position that placed him third in the Efon-Alaaye leadership hierarchy in the ancient town of Efon-Alaaye.
It should be noted that Bisi Kolawole grew up amongst politicians, which has enabled him to know about what it means to serve at an early age, as he witnessed how justice was carried out when a case came up for adjudication. His interest in politics was likely aroused by his exposure to the interplay of politics.
His avid passion stemmed from the exemplary life of his father as a politician. His father served as councilor from Efon-Alaaye under the then Ekiti West Divisional Council in the 1950s under the Action Group (AG) of the then Ekiti West Divisional Council headed by the Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Vibrant and tenacious in his disposition for a good cause to fight oppression, Hon. Kolawole is actively involved in student unionism and politics at the Yaba College of Technology. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Graphics Design from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma and Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Ado-Ekiti UNAD, now called Ekiti State University.
However, at the beginning of the 4th republic in Nigeria in 1999, his foray into partisan politics took on new meaning for him. He was returned to Efon Alaaye from Lagos, at which he started his political journey as a Supervisory Councilor.
In 2007, he was elected to the Ekiti House of Assembly under the umbrella of the PDP, where he served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Works. He was a truly distinguished and positively noticeable honourable member of the House of Assembly.
Since 2013, Hon. Kolawole is a member of the Governing Council of Niger State’s Polytechnic, Bida.
Initially appointed as a Special Adviser on Environment by Governor Ayodele Fayose in October 2004, he was later appointed as the Commissioner for Environment in July 2015, the position he held until the end of Fayose’s administration ended in 2018.
He was the PDP aspirant for the House of Representatives in the 2019 elections to represent his constituency in Ekiti State. As a member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, he is the former chairman of the PDP in Ekiti State.
It is rare for a politician to have worked with all four Ekiti State governors since 1999, including His Excellency, Governor Niyi Adebayo, Governor Ayodele Fayose, Governor Segun Oni, and Governor Kayode Fayemi.
Ekiti State – Why Hon. Bisi Kolawole?
Bisi Kolawole is a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State. A former member of the State Assembly, a commissioner, and the former chairman of the PDP in Ekiti state, he has a strong belief in his party’s power.
Dayo Adeyeye and Olusola Eleka were both successful candidates for whom he previously served as campaign manager.
Bisi Kolawole has achieved impressive results in Peoples Democratic Party polls he has competed in. It could be recalled that when he jostled for the position of the Chairman of the PDP, Ekiti State chapter in 2020, Kolawole stood tall to secure 1,651 of the 1,690 accredited delegates.
In September 2021, he would run for governor of Ekiti, resigning from his Chairmanship position in the process, Hon. Kolawole defeated his closest opponent with a 671-330 vote to become the flag bearer of the PDP in the June 18 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State.
This is what the PDP candidate said when asked by Tribune News’ Yomi Aiyeleso why he is running for the coveted seat of power:
“I am contesting because we are very familiar with the situation in Ekiti. We know where the shoe pinches because the present APC government in the state has not done enough. People are suffering from no care from the government. The workers and pensioners are being owed as we speak.
The roads and other facilities are bad and dilapidated and our youths are not being encouraged to go into farming and other opportunities. With me in the saddle, all these will be looked into. Let me tell you that the totality of all these things will make an average Ekiti person comfortable and well.
Don’t forget that I am familiar with governance, having been a member of the House of Assembly, and a commissioner in the state. All these are important. The people are not asking the government to make them millionaires. They just want to be comfortable. Provide adequate social services to them. The totality of all I have said is one of the reasons that have prompted me to go all out for it and by the grace of God, with experience and support of the people, the situation will improve.”
Above all, Hon. Bisi Kolawole is a grassroots politician and pragmatic leader who understands core areas of interest to re-create the prosperity of the ” Fountain of Knowledge” state to a sustainable development that it yearns for, over the years.
