Abiru Mukhail Adetokunbo

Mukhail Adetokunbo 'Tokunbo' Abiru FCA (born 25 March 1964) is a Nigerian banker and politician. He is the senator representing the Lagos East Senatorial District at the 9th Nigerian National Assembly.

He attended the six-week Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and Lagos Business School (Senior Management Program). He holds a BSc (economics) from Lagos State University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Abiru rose to the position of executive director at First Bank Nigeria Ltd (2013–2016), and was also the Honourable Commissioner of Finance, Lagos State, between 2011 and 2013 under the leadership of Babatunde R. Fashola (SAN) as Governor.

Prior to this position, he was the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank Limited, Nigeria. He was appointed in July 2016 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as group managing director to lead the turnaround of the Skye Bank takeover, which later became Polaris Bank Limited.

Tokunbo has also served on various boards, including Airtel Mobile Networks Limited; FBN Capital Limited (now FBN Quest Merchant Bank Limited); FBN Bank Sierra-Leone Limited; and Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he donated 150,000 face masks to primary schools in his zone.

On 24 August 2020, Abiru resigned from Polaris Bank to contest the Lagos East senatorial election under the All Progressives Congress.

During his time as commissioner for finance in Lagos State, the state floated an N80 billion bond, earning it the EMEA Finance's Best Local Currency Bond Award for 2012.

He opened discussions on taxation in Lagos State after the discovery of over 5.5 million tax evaders in 2013. His efforts also led to increased Land Use Charge revenue generation to the tune of N6.2 billion.

Abiru is also a member of the Lagos HOMs Committee, which manages the Lagos State Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (HOMs) to address the state's housing deficit.

He was named the chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking of the 10th Senate on 8 August 2023.

Abiru was elected as the senator of the Lagos East Senatorial district in a bye-election on 5 December 2020.

Party Positions

Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.

Security & Defense

Enhances compensation, medical care, housing support, scholarships, stipends, and health insurance for military personnel injured in duty and their families.

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Governance & Reform

Commits to amending Nigeria’s governance architecture through constitutional review and collaboration with the National Assembly and State Governments to grant States greater autonomy over critical matters like crime prevention, prisons, stamp duties, and taxation.

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Economy & Trade

Reforms the Federal Budgetary Methodology to move away from oil revenue dependence and base spending on projected growth, establishing an inflationary ceiling to optimize fiscal policy without causing excessive inflation.

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Infrastructure

Launches a National Infrastructure Campaign to modernize national infrastructure by hiring millions of unemployed Nigerians through the fiscal flexibility gained from reforming budgetary methodology.

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Agriculture

Will encourage local farmers to form farm cooperatives, enabling them to pool resources for modern farming equipment, fertiliser, and access priority government agricultural assistance programs (extension services), with tax breaks and credits.

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Environment & Climate

Will **reduce Nigeria’s gas flaring** by removing it from the top 10 countries with highest flares, aiming to maximize sector benefits while eliminating environmental harm.

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Anti-corruption

Curb reliance on imported goods via luxury taxes, higher tariffs, and processing fees while incentivizing local manufacturing with tax credits/rebates.

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Enterprise grant support

Provides tax credits, holidays, and reduced interest rate loans for businesses that hire a specified percentage of youth in their workforce and offer on-the-job training.

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Energy

Will increase Nigeria’s domestic crude oil production to **2.6 million barrels per day by 2027** and **4 million barrels per day by 2030**, while implementing a Special Enforcement and Monitoring Unit to deter theft, vandalism, and pipeline breaches using drones and aerial surveillance.

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Education

Introduces a new management system for federally funded primary and secondary schools via Boards of Education, reserving community representation in decision-making.

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Healthcare

Will strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure with incentive schemes, counterpart funding programs, and grassroots preventative care (vaccinations, cancer screening, blood pressure monitoring) in collaboration with state/local governments.

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Technology & Digital

Establishment of an advisory committee to review and reform regulatory frameworks for blockchain technology and virtual asset services.

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Reliefs and scholarships

Provides **conditional income support** to very poor households, tied to human capital development goals like high-school attendance, healthcare, and nutrition.

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Follow the 2027 race

Who declares, who drops out, who switches party: sourced, not speculation.

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