Adedamola Richard Kasunmu, a member of the All Progressives Congress, is the deputy majority leader of the 10th Lagos House of Assembly, representing Ikeja Constituency 2.
He was first elected as a member of the House in 2015 and has served in various capacities, including as chairman of the committee on land and youth, sports and social development.
Mr. Kasunmu was born in the United Kingdom but spent his formative years in Lagos.
Before becoming a lawmaker, he was a school administrator, business consultant, motivational speaker and political organiser.
Early life and education
Mr. Kasunmu was born on March 29, 1983 in London, United Kingdom. His father was High Chief Adekunle Olaosebikan Kasunmu, a civil engineer and contractor. The mother of the senior Kasunmu was Elfreda Williams Kasunmu (a.k.a. Mama Loke), “an intimate friend” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mother, Abibatu Ashabi Mogaji.
Mr Kasunmu’s mother is Chief (Mrs.) Abiodun Arafat Abiola Kasunmu. She was a Lagos civil servant and founded Modupe Memorial School in Magodo. She was the daughter of Alhaja Mogaji – this suggests Mr. Kasunmu is President Tinubu’s nephew.
He attended at least two primary schools, including Modupe Memorial, Ifako. He also attended Kings College and D-Ivy College. In 2007, Mr. Kasunmu earned a diploma in law at the University of Wolverhampton, according to his official House profile. He is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of public diplomacy and management.
Between 2007 and 2012, Mr. Kasunmu was an administrator at Modupe Memorial School, founded by his mother. He was also a business consultant and motivational speaker at Excel Plus Business Solution at Omole.
Political career
Mr. Kasunmu’s first sojourn into organised politics appears to be in 2015 when he contested to represent Ikeja Constituency 2. However, during his 2015 campaign, he reportedly claimed to have worked for the election of Babatunde Raji Fashola as Governor in 2007 and 2011. He is said to have founded the Democrats Group of Nigeria and Revive Active Democracy Coalition of Nigeria, two youth-based political pressure groups.
During his first term as lawmaker, he sponsored two bills: for the establishment of the Lagos State Sports Commission and the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund. Both bills were passed and signed into law by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. According to one report, he was “the only first term lawmaker to have achieved such a feat in the 8th Assembly.”
In 2019, Mr. Kasunmu polled 16,891 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Lateef Onisuna of the Peoples Democratic Party, who received 4,341 votes.
A political group purchased election forms for Mr. Kasunmu in 2022, encouraging him to run again to represent Ikeja Constituency 2.
In 2023, Mr. Kasunmu held on to his seat.
In June 2016, Kasunmu was honoured with an Excellent Leaders Award by the Christian Coalition Against Corruption (CCAC) in Lagos. And in 2023, he won the Legislator of the Year Award.
Legislative work
Apart from the two bills he sponsored during his first term, Mr. Kasunmu’s legislative record is unclear. However, he has been quite active in facilitating development projects in the Ikeja area.
Below are some of the projects the lawmaker has been involved in:
- Sponsorship of ARK 5-Aside Football Competition to discover young talents.
- Sponsorship of over 2000 free GCE registrations for constituency students
- Sponsorship of over 3000 Free JAMB registration for constituency students
- Provision of Micro Financial Assistance for over 100 Small Scale Businesswomen and art students
- Sponsorship of ARK statewide football tournament in 2018.
- Empowerment for persons with disabilities in the constituency 2019.
- Provision of over N25M COVID-19 response to provide massive food palliatives in 2020.
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Aina St, Ojodu LCDA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Odozi St, Ojodu LCDA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Ogunowo St, Ikeja LGA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Obanta Avenue, Ikeja LGA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Itohan/Olu Akerele St, Ikeja LGA.
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Mojidi St, Ikeja LGA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Laide Tomori St, Ikeja LGA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Kasumu Aleshinloye St Ojodu LCDA
- Rehabilitation/reconstruction of Ashafa St, Ojodu LCDA.(2023)
- Provision of Borehole Water with 2.5KVA power generator at Aina St Ojodu
- Provision of Borehole Water with 2.5KVA power generator at Anifowose Community, Ikeja
- Provision of Borehole Water with 2.5KVA power generator at Yakoyo community, Ojodu LCDA
- Provision of Borehole Water with 2.5KVA power generator at Ipodo community, Ikeja.
- Sponsorship of 8-Balls Legend Snooker Competition with fantastic prizes for winners
- Sponsorship of constituency youths for vocational training in partnership with Ovie Brume Foundation on Victoria Island
- Sponsorship of two (2) constituency youth abroad for leadership Training in agriculture and human resources (Ebenezer Omitogun – Scotland and Ibrahim Owolabi- USA)
In one interview, Mr. Kasunmu claimed he has “facilitated the admission of 27 students into Lagos State University and 65 youths into Lagos State civil service between 2015 and 2018.”
“I have also sponsored about 100 students for JAMB and also sponsored two members of my constituency to US and Scotland for leadership programmes and spent over N25 million during Covid-19 for constituents,” he said.
In June 2023, Mr. Kasunmu, in collaboration with a Europe-based football scout, launched a hunt for potential soccer stars in his constituency.
