Femi Pedro

Femi Pedro is the author of The Formula for Wealth: My Thoughts on Wealth, Entrepreneurship and Leadership, a book published and released in 2020.

On 12 February 2018, he was appointed as the pioneer chairman of the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund.

On 1 March 2018, Pedro was also appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the chairman of the board of directors of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of NIgeria (SMEDAN).

On 31 December 2015, the Lagos State House of Assembly invalidated the 2007 impeachment of Femi Pedro by way of a Resolution passed by the majority of its members. It will be recalled that Pedro was impeached towards the end the tenure of Bola Tinubu as governor on 10 May 2007 (a day after he had tendered his resignation on 9 May 2007), so this resolution followed the adoption of the recommendation of the eight member Ad Hoc Committee constituted on 2 July 2015 to review the circumstances that led to his impeachment. The House, which passed a vote of confidence on Pedro, said that the allegations of his impeachment were not connected to criminal charges.

Today, Pedro remains a respected member of the Nigerian political hierarchy. Within days of his return to APC, he was appointed as the chairman of the APC Registration Exercise Committee, which was held in February 2014 in Ondo State.

Pedro received a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from University of Wisconsin–Superior (1976–1978) and a master's degree in economics from Wichita State University (1979–1981).

He urged the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led government to do more to reduce the suffering of the people and encouraged them to reduce the penchant to celebrate days in office when there continued to remain an uphill struggle towards attaining sustainable achievements. According to Pedro, "The Government, notwithstanding its many achievements, does a great-disservice if its primary focus is to give people a false sense of comfort – home and abroad – that Lagosians are living in utopian paradise when there is still a lot more work to be done."

Throughout 2013, indications began to emerge of reconciliation moves between Tinubu and Pedro, who had fallen apart in the buildup to the 2007 elections. The Oba of Lagos publicly and privately encouraged the reconciliation moves after Tinubu had graced the wedding ceremony of Pedro's son in 2012, which was the first time they had been publicly seen together since 2006.

In December 2013, Pedro reportedly held a secret meeting with Tinubu, the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and the interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, to finalise his move back to APC. Within a matter of days of the report breaking out, Femi Pedro released a statement confirming his move back to APC.

He continued: "I was part and parcel of the administration during the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu era and I know where some of the problems of the state lie. God-willing, If I am chosen to run in the 2011 polls, I would do everything within my power to help Lagosians right the wrongs."

In September 2010, whispers began spreading around Lagos State that Pedro might contest the 2011 gubernatorial elections under the PDP platform. Scores of groups reportedly urged Pedro to declare, including prominent South West leaders and at least one sitting governor from a prominent Yoruba state. He was rumoured to have had widespread support and goodwill amongst the PDP hierarchy and party faithful in Abuja. Pedro remained silent about his ambitions, but sources close to his camp claimed that Femi Pedro was very reluctant to throw his hat in the race. He however committed to having an open, honest and transparent debate with stakeholders about "how to move the state forward in the coming years".

On 24 September 2010, Pedro finally declared his intention to run for the 2011 governorship election in Lagos state on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party.

In May 2007, Pedro resigned his position as deputy governor a few days after citing electoral malpractices in the Gubernatorial elections in which he participated and lost. Today, he continues to champion the fight against wasteful spending in Government, and has preached on the need for transparency and accountability by elected officials in Nigeria.

The committee, headed by the majority leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, in its report said: “In line with Rule 51 (6) of the Business, Rules and Standing Orders of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the committee recommends that this House should by a substantive motion review the impeachment passed on Otunba Femi Pedro on Thursday May 10, 2007 by the 5th Assembly". 36 members of the House were in support of the pardon while only one lawmaker voted against it and another abstained.

In September 2006, Pedro declared his intention to run for office as the governor of Lagos State in 2007. Tinubu was initially in support of Pedro's candidacy, but allegedly began to gravitate towards Babatunde Raji Fashola as the campaign season drew closer.

On 13 December 2006, Pedro dumped the Action Congress to declare under the Labour Party. He became the first-ever Nigerian to contest for a gubernatorial election under the Labour Party platform. On 30 January 2007, Femi Pedro named a University lecturer, Oluranti Adebule, as his running mate for the 19 April elections. Adebule, who teaches Islamic studies at the Lagos State University (LASU), is from the Badagry Division of the state. Solidarity and goodwill messages also poured in for Pedro from the various stakeholders in the party, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), teachers, pensioners, Hausa and Igbo communities, women's groups, students and youth bodies. He endeared himself to Lagosians with his comprehensive manifesto and various policies, many of which were being implemented by the former governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

Pedro was elected as Deputy Governor of Lagos State in April 2003, and was sworn in alongside Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu the following month. He was recruited primarily due to his Economic background; but with time, he became renowned for his political sagacity by keen political observers in Lagos, Nigeria.

Aside from leading the Government Economic Team, Pedro also championed the fight against the Federal Government regarding the withheld Local Government Funds in 2003. During the course of his term in office, he was awarded the Yoruba aristocratic title of Otunba by the people of his native Lagos. Later, he was given the further title of the Badeleola of Lagos by the Oba of Lagos in 2005.

In January 1998, Pedro ventured into private business as the chairman of Agro-Corp Ventures Limited, a commodity processing company. The same year (Nov 1998), he was appointed managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Comet Merchant Bank (now FinBank, following the acquisition of the bank by a consortium of investors including himself. He served as managing director and part-owner of FinBank from 1998 to 2003. He was also the chairman of the First Atlantic Online Limited from 2002 to 2003. He resigned as managing director of the bank after accepting to serve as the deputy governor of Lagos State.

He became one of the first set of investors in Guaranty Trust Bank along with Fola Adeola, Tayo Aderinokun (now deceased), Gbolahan Osibodu, Femi Akingbe, Akin Opeodu and a few others. Femi Pedro later took up a senior managerial role at its inception in 1990, and he was subsequently responsible for opening a multitude of its branches across the Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria. He served in various capacities at the bank until 1997, when he voluntarily retired. On the eve of his retirement, he was admitted to the fellowship of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

He commenced his banking career in 1982 when he joined the country's apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He rose to the post of assistant manager in 1985 and became a research economist the following year. The same year (1986), he was admitted as an associate of the prestigious Chartered Institute of Bankers, London, United Kingdom having successfully completed the professional bankers' examinations. First City Merchant Bank Ltd (now First City Monument Bank ltd) became his next port of call by 1988, where he rose to become the executive assistant to the bank's chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) and later deputy manager and head of corporate planning within a period of one year.

Educated at St. Stephens primary school, Adeniji Adele Road from 1960 to 1967 where he obtained the First School Leaving Certificate. Femi Pedro subsequently attended Ahmadiyya College (now Anwar-Ul-Islam College), Agege between 1968 and 1974 where he earned the Higher School Certificate (HSC) after having successfully completed the West African School Certificate in 1972.

Olufemi "Femi" Pedro (born 29 January 1955, in Lagos) was the deputy governor of Lagos State, Nigeria, from 2003 until 2007. Prior to his election alongside Bola Tinubu, he was a part-owner and the chief executive officer of First Atlantic Bank, now FinBank.

A scion of renowned Pa Sanusi Adeyinka Pedro – whose own father settled in the Shomolu area of Lagos before moving to Bamgbose Street in Lagos Island – Femi Pedro was born to late Pa Olajide Pedro- a retired officer of the defunct Western Nigeria Marketing Board, Ikeja- and late Mrs. Modupe Pedro (née Abayomi) on 29 January 1955. Today, aside from the Lagos Island fame, the Pedro Family house is still deeply rooted around Aina Street in the Shomolu area of Lagos.