Four years after divorce, Dimeji Bankole to wed Bagudu’s daughter

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole will on Friday tie the nuptial knot with Miss Aisha Shinkafi Saidu, daughter of the Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu.

Bankole, who had divorced his first wife in 2017, had in the past few years been a much sought after bachelor in the circle of eligible spinsters both within and outside Nigeria. Friday’s marriage ceremony will draw the curtain on rife speculations regarding his matrimonial intentions since the divorce.

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The bride, a lawyer and graduate of the University of Hull in the UK is a granddaughter of late political heavyweight and onetime head of Nigeria’s security organisation, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, Marafan Sokoto.

The bride’s mother, Hajiya Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu is Shinkafi’s daughter and a sister to the former Governor of Zamfara State, His Excellency Alhaji Aliyu Shinkafi.

A statement from the Bankole family of Iporo, Abeokuta disclosed that a quiet introduction between the two families had taken place a few weeks earlier to kick off the joining together, in line with Islamic and traditional injunctions.

At the introduction ceremony, the Governor of Sokoto State and Bankole’s successor as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal had led the groom’s family to the bride’s family home to seek her hand in marriage.

Friday’s event will be the culmination of a courtship that both families had kept very discrete. Political observers however note that the marriage would appear to straddle Nigeria’s great political divide as Bagudu is the Chairman of the APC Governors Forum while Tambuwal is the National Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum.

The family advised that in keeping with the requirements of Covid-19 protocols, the ceremony will be low key, stressing that invited guests are to observe all health and safety directives at the event while appealing to friends and well-wishers who may not have received invitations for their understanding given the uncertainties of the present times.