Eight facts about Seriki, late Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain

Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, Ademola Rasaq Seriki, died in the early hours of Thursday.

Before his death, he had served the country as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Defence. He was also accredited as the permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Below are eight things to know about Seriki:

1. Seriki was born in Lagos on the 30th of November 1959, a year before the post-colonial era.

2. In 1978, Seriki began his career as a clerical officer in the Lagos City Council, City Hall, Lagos. He had a brief working experience at the Afribank which was formerly known as the International Bank for West Africa Ltd (IBWA).

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3. After he worked briefly as a clerical officer, Seriki went to the New York where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in Accounting, Finance, and Management from the City University of New York.

He also attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he completed a Senior Executive Education and earned a certificate in National and International Security.

4. Aside from being a politician under the ruling All progressives Congress (APC), Seriki served as a qualified teacher in business, accounting, and mathematics. He was also a businessman and a public administrator.

5. In May 2009, the Oba of Lagos Rilwan Babatunde Olusale Akiolu, installed Seriki as the Ottun Aare of Lagos.

6. In 2019, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) confiscated two houses in Lagos and Abuja belonging to Seriki after he reportedly failed to settle a N1billion debt.

7. Seriki was the senatorial candidate for Lagos Central Senatorial District on the platform of the extinct National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1992. He was also elected as a member of the federal House of Representatives from the Lagos Island federal constituency on the ticket of the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) in 1998.

8. Seriki emerged as the PDP party chairman of Lagos Island Local Government Area, and later, in 2003, as the party’s standard bearer for the Lagos Island Federal Constituency. In 2005, he began serving as Secretary of the Lagos State PDP Disciplinary Committee.

In 2006, he was appointed the Lagos State Vice-Chairman of the PDP and in 2007, he campaigned to become senator for the Lagos Central Senatorial District.

8. In 2011, Seriki defected from the PDP to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, which later birthed APC.