Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion (born 13 May 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Edo State
Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...
from 1999 to 2007.
Early life
Igbinedion was born on 13 May 1957.
He is the eldest son of
Gabriel Igbinedion. He holds a BSc in marketing from the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...
(1982), and MBA from Jackson State University, Mississippi, US (1983).
Career
Igbinedion was appointed
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Oredo
Oredo is a Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Its headquarter is in Benin City. Its capital city is Benin City which also is the capital city of Edo State, Nigeria. Benin City is also the capital city of the Benin Empire. The Oba of B ...
from 1987 to 1989. In December 1991 as a candidate of the
National Republican Convention, he lost the election for the office of governor of Edo State to
John Odigie Oyegun.
In the
1999 Edo State gubernatorial election under
PDP
PDP may refer to:
Computing and technology
* Packet Data Protocol in wireless GPRS/HSDPA networks
* Parallel distributed processing in Connectionism#Parallel distributed processing, connectionism
* Plasma display panel
* Policy Decision Point in t ...
, Igbinedion was elected governor of Edo State. In 2003 he was reelected for a second term, an office he held with his deputy,
Mike Oghiadomhe until 29 May 2007.
During the period of his governorship, he established the
Edo State Polytechnic, Usen and was elected by his colleagues as Chairman of the
Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF).
His wife,
Eki Igbinedion, was active against the widespread
sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...
of women from Edo State to
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Eki Igbinedion founded the
Idia Renaissance, a non governmental organization to combat trafficking in persons.
Later life
In January 2008, he was declared wanted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement and anti-graft agency that investigates financial crimes and unknown transactions such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was establ ...
on allegations of financial fraud. The EFCC accused him of having embezzled 24 million (£12m) using front companies. He handed himself over later that month. The Benin Youth Council asked for an apology for statements implying he ran away from justice.
In December 2008, he was convicted by a court, but was controversially asked to pay a paltry sum of $25,750 in fines.
In November 2021, he was also invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged criminal diversion of public fund to the tune of 1.6bn. He has not been charged since then.
See also
*
List of governors of Edo State
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Igbinedion, Lucky
1957 births
Living people
Edo people
Governors of Edo State
Igbinedion family
Jackson State University alumni
Peoples Democratic Party state governors of Nigeria
University of Wyoming alumni