Oloriegbe Yahaya Ibrahim
Oloriegbe Yahaya Ibrahim is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2019 Senate Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Kwara.
Biography
Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe is a Nigerian medical doctor, politician, and philanthropist who earned his MBBS degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1985. His academic and professional training includes courses in Change Management, Advocacy, Facilitation Skills, Project Management, Health Policy, Systems Analysis, Legislation, Leadership, and an Executive Programme on Coaching and Consulting for Change at Oxford University.
As a politician, he served as the majority leader of the Kwara State House of Assembly between 1999 and 2003. He ran in the 2011 general election but lost to Sen. Bukola Saraki. In 2019, he won the Kwara Central Senatorial District election, defeating Bukola Saraki as the incumbent senator.
Born on November 12, 1960, he graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB.BS) degree, excelling in subjects like Human Physiology, Biochemistry, Community Medicine, and Laboratory Medicine. He later completed a Master of Science in Consulting and Coaching for Change at Oxford University in 2006.
Before politics, he practiced medicine in Nigeria’s health sector since 1985, working in both public and private sectors. He held key roles as medical director of Al-barka Hospital in Kano and Oloriegbe Clinic & Maternity Hospital in Ilorin. He led medical associations such as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), AGPMPN, and Guild of Medical Directors.
He served as secretary-general of the NMA in Kano (1991–1994) and secretary of Kano AGPMPN and GMD (1992–1994). Married with four children, he has also been an honorary citizen of Georgia State, USA since 2003. His educational achievements include best student prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Economics, and Geography at A.I.S.S Ilorin in 1979.
Politically, he was a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and contested the 2011 Kwara Central Senatorial Election under ACN, though he lost to Bukola Saraki. He returned to the Senate in 2019 as an APC candidate, defeating the incumbent. In 2022, he lost the APC primary for the Kwara Central Senatorial District to Saliu Mustapha. On March 30, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him Chairman of the National Health Insurance Authority of Nigeria (NHIA).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Technology & Digital
Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.
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.
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