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.

Agriculture

Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.

Source ↗

Security & Defense

Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.

Source ↗

Environment & Climate

Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.

Source ↗

Economy & Trade

Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.

Source ↗

Infrastructure

Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).

Source ↗

Enterprise grant support

Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.

Source ↗

Energy

Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.

Source ↗

Governance & Reform

Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.

Source ↗

Education

Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.

Source ↗

Healthcare

Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.

Source ↗

Technology & Digital

Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.

Source ↗

Reliefs and scholarships

Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.

Source ↗