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Nestor Binabo
Nigerian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nestor K. Binabo[3] (died 29 June 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria) was a Nigerian politician and teacher who briefly served as the acting Governor of Bayelsa State, from January to February 2012. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, he also served as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly. After leaving office, he was a member of the All Progressives Congress until his death in 2023.
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Political career
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Pre-speakership and early career
Binabo began his political career in the Sagbama Local Council.[4]
Later, Binabo was elected to the Bayelsa State Assembly, and served as deputy speaker and the State Commissioner of Youths and Conflict Resolution.[5][6][7] He also served as acting speaker.[8]
Speakership (2010–2012)
Binabo was elected speaker in July 2010, after his predecessor, Werinipre Seibarugo, was appointed deputy governor following the impeachment and removal of Peremobowei Ebebi.[1][9] Binabo himself was initially floated as a candidate for the position.[7][10] During his tenure, he drew controversy for allegedly supporting a plan to fire 500 government workers.[11] In 2011, he was put on trial for allegedly failing to disclose that he was terminated from a position at Rivers State Ministry of Education and forging certificates presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, which would have disqualified him from public office.[12][13] He was found innocent in October.[12]
Acting governorship (January–February 2012)
He was made acting Governor of Bayelsa on 27 January 2012, after Timipre Sylva, along with four other governors nationwide, was removed by the Supreme Court.[14][15][16][17][18] During his brief tenure as acting governor, he fired several members of Sylva's cabinet, and threatened legal action against Chevron following a high-profile oil spill.[19][20][21] He left office on 14 February 2012, and was succeeded by Henry Dickson of the People's Democratic Party.[14][17] He subsequently resigned the speakership, citing the fact that both he and Dickson hail from the same senatorial district.[2] He was succeeded by Kombowei Benson.[2]
Post-speakership (2012–present)
In June 2012, after Benson was impeached and removed from the speakership by a majority of the Assembly, Binabo successfully nominated his own former deputy speaker, Fini Angaye, to fill the vacant slot.[22]
Split from PDP and joining APC (2015)
He was expelled from the People's Democratic Party in May 2015 due to alleged anti-party activities in the 2015 general election.[23] He, along with several dozen other PDP chieftains, formally defected to the All Progressives Congress in August 2015.[24] In the years since, he took on increasingly anti-PDP political positions.[25][26]
APC years (2015–2023)
In November 2015, in a speech in Yenagoa, he accused then-governor and former ally Henry Dickson of threatening to assassinate him over a local political rivalry. Dickson and the PDP denied all accusations and characterized them as lies.[4]
As of May 2018, he was the leader of one of the two major factions of the Bayelsa APC. The leader of the other major faction was Timipre Sylva.[27]
He was one of several prominent Bayelsa State APC politicians who endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari's 2019 reelection bid.[28][29]
He died on 29 June 2023.[30] Former president Goodluck Jonathan and governor of Bayelsa State Douye Diri sent their condolences through their spokespersons.[31][32][33][34]
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Personal life
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Binabo hailed from Okunbiri, Sagbama.[4][35] Before entering politics, he worked for the Rivers State Ministry of Education as a teacher.[36] He was fired in 1987 for indiscipline, which later became a scandal in his political career.[37]
In March 2008, Binabo's 22-year-old son, Oyeinmomoemi Binabo, was abducted from campus at Niger Delta University. He escaped by running along the banks of the River Nun approximately 24 hours after the initial kidnapping.[6] Several months later, Oyeinmomoemi Binabo was killed in a hit and run car accident.[38]
Binabo's office at the Assembly was burgled in September 2011. Money and several valuables were stolen.[39]
On 29 June 2015, Nestor Binabo's wife, Martha Binabo, was kidnapped from her workplace by unidentified gunmen in military uniforms.[17] She was released, unharmed, in Rivers State on 5 July after a ransom was paid.[40] She was released with a bag of fish and a N18,000 transport fare.[41] Reportedly, the kidnappers told her to prepare pepper soup for her husband with the fish.[41][42]
Binabo survived being physically attacked or assaulted at least three times, including a home invasion resulting in a fatality in 2010.[43][8][44] He died after a lengthy illness on 29 June 2023, in Abuja.[30]
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References
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