Theophilus O Bamigboye (born 1951) is a retired

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n Colonel who served as Military Administrator of

Bauchi State Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...

and then

Osun State Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...

before the return to democracy in May 1999. He later entered politics, competing for governorship of

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

in 2007.

Background and military career

Theophilus O Bamigboye was born in 1951 in Omu-Aran in Irepodun Local Government in

. His brother is Brigadier General David Bamigboye, Military Governor of

from May 1967 until July 1975. He married the socialite Enitan Allen, who was conspicuous during his tenure as governor of Bauchi and Osun states. They later were divorced. Theophilus O Bamigboye served as Military Administrator of Bauchi State (August 1996 - August 1998) during the military regime of General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. He invested in education, constructing primary and secondary schools buildings and providing equipment and improved incentives for teachers. He provided a new permanent site for Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC). During his tenure

Gombe State Gombe State (; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in North East (Nigeria), northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Borno State, Borno in the vicinity of Gongola River and Lake Dadin Kowa Dam, Dadin Kowa and Yobe S ...

was created out of Bauchi. He was appointed Military Administrator of Osun State in August 1998, handing over power to the civilian governor

Adebisi Akande Chief Abdulkareem Adebisi Bamidele Akande (; born 16 January 1939) is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Osun State from 1999 to 2003, as a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) party. He was the first interim Chairman of ...

in May 1999.

Later political career

Theophilus Bamigboye entered politics as a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), later moving to the Democratic People's Party (DPP), and then to the Accord Party. In April 2007 he competed on the Accord Party platform for governorship of Kwara State, without success. At one point in the campaign, gun wielding youths started shooting when Bamigboye was speaking at a rally of his supporters, but he escaped unharmed. Bamigboye appealed the electoral result where Dr

Bukola Saraki Abubakar Bukola Saraki (; born on 19 December 1962) is a Nigerian politician who served as the 13th president of the Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2019. He was elected the President of Nigeria’s 8th Senate on 9 June 2015 under the All Progr ...

had won the race for governor, claiming there had been widespread malpractices, corruption, violence, intimidation and exclusion of the photograph and logo of the Accord Party from the ballot papers, but in July 2008 an electoral appeal court upheld Saraki victory. In September 2009 Theophilus Bamigboye returned to the PDP and was reconciled with

Olusola Saraki Abubakar Olusola Saraki (; 17 May 1933 – 14 November 2012) was a Nigerian politician, who was a Senator in the Nigerian Second Republic (1979–1983). He was the holder of the chieftaincy title of the Waziri of the Ilorin Emirate, and belonge ...

, father of the incumbent governor. He said that his decision to leave the PDP had been a mistake, and it was time to retrace his steps. He also said he would be willing to serve as governor of Kwara State if needed.

References

Nigerian Army officers Living people Nigerian Roman Catholics Yoruba military personnel 1951 births People from Kwara State Governors of Bauchi State Governors of Osun State Yoruba politicians Accord (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Democratic People's Party (Nigeria) politicians {{nigeria-mil-bio-stub