Jumoke Akindele

Jumoke Akindele is a Nigerian lawyer and first female Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly.

Early life Jumoke Akindele was born in Okitipupa, a town in Ondo State southwestern Nigeria. She had her primary education at St. John's Primary School in Okitipupa before she proceeded to St. Louis Girls Secondary School, Ondo where she obtained the West Africa School Certificate in 1981. Jumoke received a bachelor's degree in Law from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife and practiced law for some years before she ventured into politics in 2006.

Political career In April 2007, Jumoke contested the seat of the constituency, Okitipupa constituency II but lost to the opposition party. She re-contested on 11 April 2011, and was elected as member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, where she served as Chairman of House Committee on Education before she was elected Speaker of the Assembly. On 27 May 2015, she was elected Speaker of the Assembly following the sudden demise of the former speaker Samuel Adesina. She relinquished the leadership position of the house in a resignation letter dated 20 March 2018. Jumoke Akindele is the first female speaker of the state. Resignation and controversy

Akindele's tenure as Speaker ended controversially. In March 2017, she submitted a resignation letter dated 20 March 2017, though reports at the time described the circumstances as a forced removal rather than a voluntary resignation, with the assembly simultaneously proceeding to impeach its principal officers. She remains the only woman to have served as Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly.

Later career

Following her tenure in the assembly, Akindele remained active in APC politics. In December 2025, she was identified as a leading candidate for the Ondo South Senatorial District seat following the confirmation of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as a non-career ambassador-designate, which created a vacancy in the constituency. Hailing from Okitipupa, the headquarters of Jimoh Ibrahim's local government area and the largest town in Ondo South, her candidacy was viewed as consistent with zoning arrangements within the district.