Dimeji Bankole

Sabur Oladimeji "Dimeji" Bankole (born 14 November 1969) is a Nigerian politician who served as the 11th Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria.

Elected at the age of 37, he is the youngest Speaker in the history of Nigeria.

A Muslim Egba, Bankole was born in Abeokuta in what is now known as Ogun State on 14 November 1969.

His father, Alani Bankole, a businessman, former National Vice-Chairman and acting Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and holder of the chieftaincy titles of the Oluwo of Iporo Ake and the Seriki Jagunmolu of Egbaland, and his mother, who is one of his father's wives, Atinuke Bankole, who was herself the Ekerin Iyalode of Egbaland.

Newspaper Thisday identifies Bankole's education as such: Baptist Boys' High School, Abeokuta starting 1979; Albany College, London, England, starting 1985; University of Reading, Reading, England, starting 1989; short course at University of Oxford's Officers' Training Corps, Oxford, England, in 1991; and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, in 2005.

In 1991, Bankole passed D.A.B selection into Royal Military Academy Sandhurst while taking courses for military officers at Oxford University where he was in the Artillery Corps.

Bankole is a polo player, and is a member of the Lagos Polo Club and the Guards Polo Club, Abuja with defence as his preferred position.

He also enjoys football.

Previously, Bankole was a Director of Freight Agencies Nigeria Limited from 1995 until 1998, Executive Director of Operations of West African Aluminium Products Limited from 1998 until 2004, and Director of ASAP Limited from 2000 until 2003.

In 2002, Bankole was elected to the House of Representatives on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) ticket to represent the Abeokuta South Federal Constituency of Ogun State.

He was Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Finance while Aminu Bello Masari was Speaker, (Farouk Lawan was Chairman of the committee) and was also previously Chairman of the House Committee on Land Transport.

Other committees he has sat on are the panels on Defence, Internal Affairs and Banking, and Currency.

Bankole obtained a Master of Public Administration degree from John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA in 2005.

Bankole was re-elected in April 2007.

He considers his legislative interests to be those related to defence and finance.

In September 2007, a committee questioned Speaker Patricia Etteh about spending the sum of ₦628 million ($4.8m) on home renovation and automobiles.

She denied wrongdoing, but many representatives were unhappy with her attempts to defend herself, blows were traded on the floor of the House, and Etteh had to be escorted from the chamber.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and many top PDP members continued to back her, but a large segment of the party, led by Lawan and including Bankole, called for her resignation.

It was reported that Bankole, among multiple other contenders, hoped to succeed her as early as 5 October 2007.

After Etteh's resignation from the post on 30 October (along with her deputy, who was also caught up in the scandal), Integrity Group (anti-Etteh) member Terngu Tsegba became interim speaker.

On 1 November, he was elected to succeed Etteh.

The election began at 10.30am.

The House was short of the statutory 360 members because three (Moses Segun Oladimeji, Joe Anota and Aminu Shuaibu Safana) died.

Two constituencies were yet to elect their representatives.

328 of the 355 members voted.

Samson Osagie of Edo State nominated Bankole for the post of Speaker, and Lynda Ikpeazu of Anambra State seconded the proposal.

His challenger was Osun State Representative George Jolaoye, whom he beat by 304 votes to 20 (and 4 abstentions).

Etteh was among those who voted against Bankole.

The new deputy speaker was Usman Bayero Nafada.

Bankole was declared speaker at 1.30pm.

In his acceptance speech, entitled "We Stand Upon The Threshold of History", Bankole said "I am taking over the mantle of leadership at a very difficult time. But these are hard times, we need to build confidence again and assure the populace that we are still their representatives. I want an independent house that Nigerians will be proud of, this is my first task."

One week after his election, political opponents claimed that Bankole had not completed his National Youth Service Corps (N.Y.S.C) service, which is mandatory for all Nigerian university graduates under thirty years of age when they graduate, and called for his resignation over the issue.

Bankole provided his N.Y.S.C discharge certificate, ending the rumour.

During his tenure, the House of Representatives as a result of performance of its oversight function ensured that Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA's) returned unspent budgeted funds amounting to about 450 billion naira to the government treasury in 2007 while about 350 billion naira was again recovered in 2008.

In total, the House of Representatives ensured the return of about 1 trillion naira unspent funds by MDA's as part of the annual budgetary process under Bankole's speakership.

On 22 June 2010 Bankole suspended 11 members of parliament indefinitely for disorderliness and fighting in the house.

An economist, Bankole is Chairman, Aspire Integrated Consultants Nigeria (since 2012) and Vice President, Africa House London (since 2016).

. In 2014, he became a Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.

He was the Action Democratic Party candidate in the 2019 Ogun State gubernatorial election.

A Yoruba man of aristocratic background, he was a businessman before being elected to the House of representative.