Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu (born 6 June 1996) is a Nigerian journalist and politician representing the Owode/Onire constituency, Asa local government area in the Kwara State House of Assembly.[1][2][3][4]

Rukayat Shittu
Member Owode/Onire constituency, Kwara State House of Assembly.
Assuming office
June 2023
SucceedingAmbali Olatunji Ibrahim
Personal details
Born (1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 (age 28)
Manyan, Asa, Kwara State
NationalityNigerian
Political partyAll Progressives Congress
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • Politician

Early life and education

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Rukayat Shittu was born on 6 June 1996 in Manyan, Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State.[5] She attended Baptist Primary School LGEA between 1998 and 2004 in Ilorin[6] and Government Girls Day Secondary School, Oko Erin where she obtained her Senior Secondary School Certificate in 2011.[7][8] She attended Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies where she obtained a diploma certificate in Mass communication and Islamic studies in 2015.[9][8] In 2017, she got admitted into the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to study Mass Communication and graduated in 2022.[10][11][12]

Career

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Shittu was the first female senate president at the Congress of NOUN Students (CONS), an unofficial student association at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).[8] After graduating, she worked at Just Event Media, based in Ilorin as a journalist.[13] In 2022, Shittu picked the interest form for the Kwara state House of Assembly under the All Progressives Congress[13] and was declared member-elect of the 10th Kwara state House of Assembly in the 2023 Kwara state House of Assembly elections.[7]

Rukayat is a member of the leading Pro-Democracy group, Kwara Must Change, which is one of the leading groups that spearheaded the Otoge political revolution in 2019. She operated as internal publicity secretary of the group. The Kwara Must Change mentored, sponsored and promoted her candidature, being the organization that champions advocacy for gender inclusion in the state. In 2019, the group demanded for a minimum of 50% of cabinet positions for women, which the state government adopted.[14]

Professional Development and Training Participation

Rukayat has actively engaged in various seminars and workshops. In 2020, she participated in the International Media Training Center Workshop and completed a course on Introduction to Journalism. In 2021, she took part in the Trainirelations Emerging Women in Politics, IT Africa Training and the Youth Motion Fellowship. Her professional development continued in 2022 with her attendance at the Cyber Naija with Hashim Project and the Progressive Women Academy.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "26-year-old Rukayat Shittu wins house of assembly seat in Kwara". TheCable. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  2. ^ Online, Tribune (19 March 2023). "26-year-old journalist wins Kwara Assembly seat". Tribune Online. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  3. ^ "26-Year-Old Rukayat Shittu Wins Kwara Assembly Seat". 19 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  4. ^ Online, Tribune (19 March 2023). "26-year-old journalist wins Kwara Assembly seat". Tribune Online. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Meet Rukayat Shittu, 26-year-old who won a seat in Kwara Assembly". businessday.ng. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b "HON. SHITTU RUKAYAT MOTUNRAYO". Kwara State House of Assembly. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Meet 26-year-old Kwara assembly member-elect". The Punch. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Akinlotan, Olasunkanmi (31 January 2023). "How I emerged candidate, finance my campaign – 'Youngest' APC candidate". Premium Times Nigeria. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  9. ^ "2023 Election: 26-year-old Woman, Rukayat Shittu Wins Assembly Seat In Kwara | Sahara Reporters". saharareporters.com. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  10. ^ Editorial (20 March 2023). "Rukayat Shittu's Victory". Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  11. ^ "26 Years Rukayat Shittu Don Win Chair For Inside Kwara State Assembly". Wazobia FM. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  12. ^ WFM (27 August 2023). "Remi Tinubu meets Nigeria's youngest lawmaker, Rukayat Shittu*". WFM 91.7. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  13. ^ a b Lawal, Nurudeen (20 March 2023). "Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu, RMS: The 26 year old lady fighting a seat in Kwara House of Assembly". Legit.ng. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  14. ^ scraft (27 September 2023). "Rukayat Shittu". StateCraft Inc. Retrieved 18 June 2024.