Gershom Bassey

Senator Chief Gershom Henry Bassey (born 18 March 1962 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian politician and multi - millionaire businessman.[1] He is the senator representing Cross River South Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate. He is a senator of the 8th and 9th National Assembly in Nigeria respectively.[2][3][4]

Gershom Henry Bassey
PresidentMuhammadu Buhari
Vice PresidentYemi Osinbajo
Member of the Senate of Nigeria for Cross River South
Assumed office
2019
Member of the Senate of Nigeria for Cross River South
In office
9 June 2015  9 June 2019
Chairman Cross River State Water Board
In office
1999–2014
Personal details
Born18 March 1962 (1962-03-18) (age 61)
Lagos, Nigeria
CitizenshipNigeria
CommitteesChairman,Senate Committee;FERMA,Vice Chairman, Senate Committee; Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Member, Senate Committee; Defence, Federal Character, National Planning, Local Content and Cooperation and Integration in Africa/NEPAD

Personal life and education

Gershom Bassey (born 18 March 1962) in Lagos, Nigeria, hails from Calabar South local government area of Cross River State. He is married to Chioma Gershom-Bassey with 5 children. Bassey attended Corona School Apapa, Lagos for his primary school then moved on to Federal Government College, Sokoto where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1977. In 1979, he received his A-Level certificate from Greylands College, Isles of Wight, United Kingdom. He studied Engineering Production and Economics at University of Wales, Cardiff where he graduated with a 1st BSc in 1984. In 1986, he received an MSc in Construction Management from Brunel University London with a distinction. In 2000 he received an MBA from MIT Sloan school of management [5][6]

He is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers (NICE) and has received an award of recognition from the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).[7]

Career

Bassey was the CEO of Lilleker Nigeria [8] Nigeria form 1999 - 2010 and Chairman Cross River State Water Board in 1999-2015. Bassey started his political career when ran for Senate of the Cross River Southern Senatorial District 2015.In 9 June 2015 he was sworn into the 8th Nigerian Senate.On 11 June 2019 he was sworn into the 9th Nigerian Senate. He is ranked the 5th best senator in the Nigerian Senate. He has an estimated net worth of about $30 million putting him as one of the richest men in Cross River State. [9][10] He also served as the Chairman of the Strategic Policy Committee in Cross River State.[11][12] In 2014, Bassey declared his interest for the seat of the senate for Cross River south senatorial district.[13] In 2015, he was elected Senator for Cross River South senatorial district.[14][15][16] He was also appointed the Vice Chairman of the Senate committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream). Bassey is now the Chairman of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency ( FERMA ). This is the committee responsible for road maintenance in Nigeria. [17]

Bassey is the band leader of Africa's largest street band called Masta Blasta which participates in the Calabar Carnival annually.

In the run up to the 2019 elections during the People's Democratic Party primaries, Bassey reportedly had a confrontation with his opponent Ntufam Ekpo Okon which eventually led to a fight and postponement of the primaries by the Cross River State Senatorial Primary Election Committee. It was also reported that supporters of Ntufam Ekpo Okon attacked the motorcade of Bassey.[18] Following the attack on Bassey, Ntufam Okon was disqualified by the Cross River State Senatorial Primary Election Committee and Bassey emerged the winner.[19][20][21]

In February 2019, the election was held and Bassey emerged the winner.[22][23]

During the 8th National Assembly, he sponsored several bills namely:

1. Correction, Reformation and Re-integration Centre (establishment, etc) Bill, 2016".

2. Federal College of Forestry Technology and Research, Akamkpa (establishment, etc) Bill

3. He sponsored a bill named "A Bill for an Act to amend the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody)(Special Provision) Act, CAP C40 LFN 2011 and for Other Related Matters", the bill progressed through to the second reading stage.

4. Other bills he sponsored that only went through the first reading are the "Fire (Hazard, Prevention and Safeguard) Bill", the "National Boundary Commission Act (Amendment) Bill", "Flags and Coat of Arms Act (Amendment) Bill", "Federal Polytechnic Akpabuyo (Est.etc.) Bill" and the "Nigerian Research Institute of Fisheries and Aquatic, Bakassi (Est.etc) Bill".,[24][25]

References

  1. admin (20 August 2017). "Cross River: Rumbles in the Creek Ahead of 2019". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  2. "30 countries for Calabar Carnival, says official". P.M. News. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  3. Ajagunna, Friday (6 October 2016). "Rowdy, hostile Senate session throws out Tinubu's bill on special status for Lagos". New Mail Nigeria. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  4. Nwachukwu, John Owen (1 August 2018). "2019: Why lawmakers are defecting from APC to PDP - Senator Bassey". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  5. https://mitsloan.mit.edu
  6. "Nigeria ScoreCard". www.nigeriascorecard.com. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  7. "Senator Gershom Bassey: The Indefatigable March of a Quintessential Leader". 19 June 2019.
  8. Lilleker https://www.lillekerbros.com
  9. Odunsi, Wale (25 December 2014). "Senator representing Cross River South dumps PDP after losing at primaries". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  10. "Cross River: Bassey wins PDP Southern Senatorial primary". The Nation Nigeria. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  11. "Otu, Duke And Gershom Go For Senatorial Ticket". www.calitown.com. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  12. "Power shift threatens politics of 'three wise men'". The Nation Nigeria. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  13. Eribake, Akintayo (26 August 2014). "Cross River 2015: The myth around Imoke, Duke and I — Gershom Bassey". Vanguard News Nigeria. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  14. "Little-known politician beats Senator Otu in PDP senatorial primaries". The Eagle Online. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  15. daniel (26 December 2014). "Why I Resigned From PDP – Sen. Bassey Otu". INFORMATION NIGERIA. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  16. "How I was elected despite suffering defeat in my unit, ward, LGA – Senator". Premium Times Nigeria. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  17. "Power Devolution, Key To Nigeria's Economic Growth – Bassey". Leadership Newspaper. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  18. Gill, Nsa (3 October 2018). "Senator Bassey, Opponent Exchange Blows Over Claims Of Missing Election Materials". Independent Newspapers Nigeria. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  19. "PDP Senator calls on party to disqualify opponent from Senatorial race". The Nation Nigeria. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  20. "Ex-PDP chairman disqualified from Cross River senatorial primary over alleged violence". guardian.ng. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  21. "Sen. Gershom Bassey Attacked, Wounded By Suspected Thugs In PDP Primary". aitonline.tv. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  22. "Sen. Bassey retains Cross River South Senatorial seat". Punch Newspapers. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  23. Isangedighi, Iyanam (25 February 2019). "APC candidate stops Cross River Speaker's bid for National Assembly seat". TODAY.NG. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  24. "Gershom Bassey: Two Years Of People Driven Representative In The Senate".
  25. "Plac Billstrack".
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