Many have heard of Mr. Mustapha Kehinde Gbajabiamila, a legal practitioner, popularly called M.K., who was the third Commissioner of Finance in the history of Lagos State, serving between 1977 to 1978, but many do not know that his family is the only family to have produce a father and son as Commissioners of Finance…”
Many have heard of Mr. Mustapha Kehinde Gbajabiamila, a legal practitioner, popularly called M.K., who was the third Commissioner of Finance in the history of Lagos State, serving between 1977 to 1978, but many do not know that his family is the only family to have produce a father and son as Commissioners of Finance in Lagos State.
Mr. M K Gbajabiamila served in various capacities in Lagos before he died in August, 2018. Mustapha Kehinde Gbajabiamila was born on 17th November 1928, and died on August 3rd August 2018. He was a legal practitioner in Lagos State, Nigeria where he also served in various capacities as a government official in Lagos State, first as a member of Lagos Town Council and as the Commissioner for Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs, Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner for Sports & Youth Development in the cabinet of the military Governor of Lagos State, Captain Adekunle Lawal
Their son, Dr. Mustapha Abiodun Akinkunmi, born 1st January 1964, is a Financial and Development Economist, Author and Technology Strategist. He served briefly as the Honourable Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Nigeria.
He is an Associate Professor of Finance at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Nigeria; he sits on the Board of Global Credit Rating Company Limited (GCR Nigeria) – Recently acquired by Moody’s Corporation and is a Director at Brickfield Road Associates Limited – A Data Science Firm. He has over 25 years of experience in estimation, planning and forecasting using statistical and econometric methods, with particular expertise In Risk, Expected Utility, Discounting, Binomial-Tree Valuation Methods, Financial Econometrics Models, Monte Carlo Simulations, Macros-Economics, and Exchange Rate Modeling.
A bold reformer, as Honorable Commissioner for Finance for Lagos State, Nigeria, Dr Akinkunmi oversaw the successful implementation of the Treasury Single Account, resulting in enhanced transparency and efficiency that immediately realized savings of US$30 million for the State; at the time Lagos State had incurred immense debt and as part of his cost savings strategy.
He successfully re-engineered the State’s debt portfolio by negotiating various restructurings and refinancing with creditors resulting in increased borrowing capacity and cash flow available to the State, including the restructuring of LASG Series II Bonds from bullet payment to amortizing payment resulting in savings of N40 billion over the next 4 years and reducing debt service contributions to the dedicated Sinking Fund from the State’s Internally Generated Revenue.
He achieved in just one year in office. He was forced out due to “internal wrangling in Ambode’s cabinet”. His work ethic and records remain intact and unmatched. He is also the author of many books and articles. His op-ed articles have appeared on several reputable international newspapers and platforms.