Published: April 23, 2008 05:02 pm            

Lafayette man to attend Republican National Convention

As alternate delegate for Sen. John McCain

Lafayette High School graduate Adeniyi Aderibigbe was recently chosen to become the first resident of Lafayette County to be an Alternate Delegate to the Republican National Convention. Aderibigbe is pledged to Senator John McCain.

Aderibigbe is excited about his role and says he is looking forward with great anticipation to attending the convention in St. Paul, Minn., September 1-4.

Since his junior year at LHS, Aderibigbe has been actively involved in politics. “My first exposure to politics was when I was in the 11th grade,” he said. “It was purely by accident. A friend of mine, Jill Nolan, who was a high school senior at the time, convinced me to run for FBLA district vice president and helped me and another friend, India Watkins, as FBLA district president.”

When the final vote was counted, Aderibigbe created history by becoming the first LHS student to be elected FBLA state secretary. He also served as FBLA District Five vice president and participated in the Florida Senate as a page while in the 11th and 12th grades.

After graduating from LHS in 2003, Aderibigbe attended Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, where he served in various governmental roles, and joined the Republican Party of Florida. According to Aderibigbe, Betty Land nominated him to represent Lafayette County as a state committeeman. Land currently serves as chairwoman of the Lafayette County Republican Party.

Aderibigbe is currently pursuing a B.S.B.A. degree in management from the University of Central Florida and hopes to graduate soon. Before he began taking classes there, he worked at Mayo Town and Country Animal Hospital in Mayo from 2001 to 2007.

Aderibigbe has lived in Lafayette County with his mother, Dorothy Aderibigbe, and his sister, Tiffany since 1997. They moved here when he was in the seventh grade. His father, Adewale Aderibigbe, lives in Nigeria, West Africa where he has retired from the post of assistant director of the Federal Ministry of Environment.

Aderibigbe says he loves Lafayette County and its people. “Lafayette County is a beautiful, rural community where faith, morality, and family values are at its core,” Aderibigbe said.

        

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