Monsurat Sunmonu

Sunmonu is noted for her calls for Nigeria to reduce its carbon footprint and the need to turn to renewable sources of energy. She was part of the delegation that attended the historic #COP21 in Paris, France, where for the first time countries signed a historic pact to reduce CO2 emissions before 2020.

Monsurat had her primary school education at Children’s Boarding School, Oshogbo- now the capital of Osun State, Nigeria.

Under Sunmonu’s leadership the House of Assembly in totem considered 85 Bills in its 4-year tenure: with 8 Bills at 1st Reading stage, 16 Bills at 2nd Reading stage and 61 Bills passed into Law. The House passed both Executive and Private Member Bills to provide legal framework for Government business and activities. 387 Resolutions were also passed advising the Executive arm on policy.

Monsurat later attended the Kwara State College of Technology for her ‘A’ levels.

On 24 July 2018, Sunmonu decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

On 15 November 2016, Sunmonu moved a Motion during the Senate Plenary calling on the Federal Government to mandate public hospitals and medical institutions to treat accident and gunshot victims immediately and remove the bureaucracy of paperwork such as police reports and receipts of payment of medical expenses. The Motion was passed and adopted as a Bill, which passed all readings in both the Senate and The House of Representatives and was passed concurrently on 11 July 2017. The Bill was signed into law by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2017.

During the presentation of the 2016 Budget, Sunmonu charged the Federal Government to increase its spending in Technical Colleges. She argued against the culture of pushing all students to white collar academics, instead that adequate investment be made in technical colleges to open a new area of industry and help reduce unemployment. She also called for increased allocation to Technical Colleges within her Senatorial District.

Monsurat Sunmonu is a Nigerian politician who served as a Senator from Oyo State. She represented Oyo Central Senatorial District, having won the election held on 28 March 2015. Senator Sunmonu was the Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. Prior to becoming a Senator she was the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Nigeria. While in the House of Assembly she was the member representing Oyo East and Oyo West Local Governments. She became the first female Speaker in the history of Oyo State on 10 June 2011.

On 28 March 2015, Sunmonu contested the Oyo Central Senatorial District seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winning 105,378 votes, ahead of Luqman O. Ilaka of the Accord (Nigeria) (Accord) with 84,675 votes and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Sen. Ayo Adeseun with 44,045 votes. Other candidates in the election were Elijah Abiala of the Labour Party who scored 27,490, Caleb Oyelese of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) polling 7,362 and Olusegun Ogunyemi of the DPP who polled 1,343.

Sunmonu has been very vocal on the deterioration and non-completion of the Ibadan-Ilorin expressway, for which a contract was awarded in 1999. The road was split into 3 phases: Ibadan-Oyo, Oyo-Ogbomosho and Ogbomosho-Ilorin, with only the Oyo-Ogbomosho axis uncompleted. On 4 August 2015, Sunmonu was a co-sponsor of a motion moved by Sen. Dino Melaye on the deplorable condition of a number of Nigerian roads, of which Oyo-Ogbomosho was specifically mentioned. She is reported to have met with the contractor and top government officials in an effort to ensure completion of the road. The road was included in the 2016 National Budget with 6 Billion Naira budgeted towards resumption of work. Sunmonu flagged off the resumption of work on 22 August 2016, about 1 year after moving the motion on the floor of the Senate with Sen. Kabiru Gaya (Chairman, Senate Committee on Works) being quoted as saying that "Senator Sunmonu was on the neck of the Senate and the committee to ensure that the road is accommodated in the budget". The resultant pressure caused the Executive to publicly commit to complete the road before the end of the Administration.

In May 2012, Sunmonu was voted as the Deputy-Chair of the Conference of Speakers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which consists of the 36 Speakers of each State in the Federation.

6. Awarded the Best Speaker in Nigeria in 2012 & 2013.

Sunmonu rose through the ranks to be a senior member of the British Government; before leaving in 2011 to contest for a seat in the Oyo State House of Assembly, where she would go on to become Speaker.

On 26 April 2011 Monsurat Sunmonu contested on the platform of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for the Oyo East and Oyo West seat in the House of Assembly.

Monsurat Sunmonu was then nominated to be the Speaker of the House at its inauguration on 10 June 2011; she became the first female Speaker in the history of the Oyo State House of Assembly. The composition of the Oyo State House of Assembly on inauguration was 13 Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members, 12 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and 7 Accord (Nigeria) Party members.

Monsurat briefly worked at the Accounts Department of the Property Development Corporation of Oyo state (now Housing Corporation) in Bodija Ibadan, Oyo State before travelling to the UK in 1979.

Monsurat Sunmonu was born on 9 April 1959, in Oyo, Oyo State to Alhaji Akeeb Alagbe Sunmonu and Alhaja (Princess) Amudalat Jadesola Sunmonu (née Afonja) and is of royal descent in Oyo Kingdom.