Senator and politician from Nigeria named Heineken Lokpobiri served Bayelsa West.
Under the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, Lokpobiri served as the minister of state for agriculture and rural development.
His name was on the list of ministerial nominations put out by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which was given to Senate President Godswill Akpabio in August 2023 by President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff and former House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
This post by ENigeria chronicles the biography, family, education and career of Hon. Heineken Lokpobiri.
Profile summary
Name: Heineken Lokpobiri
Age: 56 years
Education: Rivers State University of Science and Technology
Religion: Christianity
Occupation: Politician
Marital status: Married
Age
March 3, 1967, Heineken Lokpobiri was born. As of 2023, he is 56 years old.
Family
Susan Lokpobiri is his wife. Twin Susan was born into a nine-person family. She is from Bayelsa state but was born and raised in Lagos.
Susan described her upbringing in an interview, saying, “I attended school in Lagos before moving to Rivers State with my siblings in 1985. We finished secondary school in Lagos, and I studied banking and finance at the University of Port Harcourt in Rivers State after that. I never had a job, although I truly wanted one because I loved banking. I was living with my uncle during this time, who was a banker, and it was because of him that I decided to pursue a career in finance.
“I later married a lovely man after this. Heineken Lokpobiri is his name, and my husband told me to take care of the house instead of working. I reacted by saying, “No, it can’t be,” since I could not imagine refusing to go to work.
“However, I did end up conducting business. My business talents were useful at that point, and I now work to empower others.
According to reports, the couple has four kids.
Education
Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, awarded Heineken Lokpobiri an LL.B (Hons) in 1994.
He graduated in February 1995. A specialist in environmental rights and law, she earned her doctorate from Leeds Beckett University in the UK in 2015.
Political career
From June 1999 to May 2001, Lokpobiri served as speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly while serving as a legislator from 1999 to 2003.
On the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket, he won the Bayelsa West constituency in the 2007 Nigerian Senate election. He was given membership on the committees for the Niger Delta, Millennium Development Goals, Public Accounts, Police Affairs, and Sports.
On the PDP platform, Lokpobiri, a senator serving his second term, campaigned for reelection as senator for Bayelsa West in April 2011.
He was immediately proclaimed the victor. The Independent National Electoral Commission later changed its mind, claiming that there were “widespread irregularities” in the election.
A short while after the statement, agents from the State Security Service detained Lokpobiri. Lokpobiri contested the INEC judgment. The INEC had intended to hold a second round of voting in the local governments of Sagbama and Ekeremor on April 28, 2011, but a Yenagoa high court issued an order prohibiting the INEC from doing so until the legal challenge had been settled.
On May 29, 2011, Lokpobiri was elected to the Senate and given the positions of chairman of the Water Resources Committee and member of the Solid Minerals Committee.
According to a report from August 2011, since the INEC had to approve any such action, the police were not prosecuting Lokpobiri and other people suspected of violating electoral laws. According to the INEC, it lacks the authority to prosecute offenders.
Lokpobiri submitted contentious legislation that would make it more difficult for labor unions to stage strikes in March 2012.
Before any form of industrial action could be taken, a ballot would be required.
By using a ballot, Lokpobiri explained, “This helps to achieve an affirmative consensus on union members. In the grand scheme of things, fairness, transparency, and accountability are also given pride of place. Various senators voiced their disagreements. The most democratic institution in the world, according to Senator Joshua Dariye, is organized labor. They represent the only hope for society, and if we crush them, I worry that we would be promoting anarchy.
He switched from the Peoples Democratic Party, which was in power, to the All Progressives Congress, or APC, in 2015. Later, the APC led by Buhari elevated him to the position of minister of state for agriculture and rural development.
Many allegations, including those of DSS arrest and ministerial slot buying, plagued his nomination as a minister. He vehemently disputed all of the allegations, though, and ultimately made it past the senate screening.
He asserted that he had informed Buhari that he would not want to return as a Minister in his cabinet at the conclusion of the term in 2019.
Later, Lokpobiri would announce his desire to run for governor of Bayelsa state.
David Lyon defeated him in the primary, a decision he openly criticized and challenged in court.
In opposition to the party’s wishes, Lokpobiri claimed he was perplexed as to why the poll would take place in a hotel.
Lokpobiri was one of the 14 APC members in Bayelsa who were suspended in 2020 for allegedly engaging in anti-party actions.
In August 2023, he was appointed as the Minister of State(oil) Petroleum Resources.
