Patricia Olubunmi Foluke Etteh (born 17 August 1953) was the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives

Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Federal House of Representatives of Nigeria. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the current speaker, was elected on June 6, 2011.-History:...

 from June until October 2007.

Personal life and education

Etteh, a Yoruba

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

, was born on 17 August 1953. She is a hairdresser and beauty therapist by training, and has received a diploma in law from University of Abuja

University of Abuja

The University of Abuja in the Nigerian capital Abuja was established on January 1, 1988 as a dual-mode university with the mandate to run conventional and distance learning programmes...

.

Political career

Etteh represents the Ayedaade/Isokan/Irewole

Ayedaade/Isokan/Irewole

Ayedaade/Isokan/Irewole federal constituency is a National Assembly delegation in Osun State. It has been represented by Patricia Etteh, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, since 2007.It covers the LGAs of Aiyedaade, Isokan and Irewole....

 constituency in Osun State

Osun State

Ọṣun State is an inland state in south-western Nigeria. Its capital is Osogbo. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east partly by Ekiti State and partly by Ondo State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west by Oyo State. The state's current governor is Rauf Aregbesola, who was...

 She was initially elected in 1999 as an Alliance for Democracy

Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria)

The Alliance for Democracy was a progressive opposition political party in Nigeria. It was formed on September 9th 1998. At the 2003 legislative elections, 12 April 2003, the party won 8.8 % of the popular vote and 34 out of 360 seats in the Nigerian House of Representatives and six out of...

 (AD) member, but switched to the People's Democratic Party

People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)

The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Nigeria. Its policies generally lie towards the right wing of the political spectrum. It has won every single Presidential elections since 1999, namely: 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:In...

 (PDP) when running for re-election in 2003. She was elected to the position of speaker unanimously in June 2007, and is the only woman to have held this position in the Nigerian government.

Corruption scandal

In September 2007, she faced a committee of MPs over accusations that she had authorised the spending of 628 million Naira (about US$5 million) on renovations of her official residence and that of her deputy, and the purchase of 12 official cars meant for the House of Representatives. Accusations of theft were chanted at her as she tried to speak in the House, and she was escorted out by security as the situation degenerated into a commotion, though she has not been officially indicted.

The PDP officially continued to back Etteh, although some members, such as Isyaku Ibrahim

Isyaku Ibrahim

Isyaku Ibrahim is a Kano-based Nigerian politician and businessman. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the ruling People's Democratic Party and is President of the Nigeria Universities Games Association...

, criticised this stance. Author and academic Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...

 was among those who called for her resignation, while former President and PDP member Olusegun Obasanjo continued to support her. On 30 October, following weeks of pressure, Etteh resigned her position as speaker. Her deputy, Babangida Nguroje, also resigned. However at the last seating of the 6th session House of Representatives, it was agreed that "There is no record or proceedings of the House where Patricia Olubunmi Etteh was ever indicted,"