Coming on the heels of Nigerian-born Osaremen Okolo being appointed one of Biden’s advisers on COVID-19, US president-elect Joe Biden has appointed Nigeria’s Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo as one of his legal advisers at the White House.
A lawyer and an alumna of Berkeley Law College in the US, Badejo was appointed as the Associate Counsel to the President-elect on Tuesday, January 12. She was named alongside more than 20 lawyers to his White House counsel’s office, Bloomberg Law reports.
Funmi was the general counsel of the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis. Badejo also served as ethics counsel in the same office toward the end of the Obama administration.
“Her prior government service includes serving as Counsel for policy to the Assistant Attorney-General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Ethics Counsel at the White House Counsel’s Office and Attorney Advisor at the Administrative Conference of the United States during the Obama-Biden administration,” the statement read.
“Olorunnipa Badejo began her legal career as an associate with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and was Legal Counsel at Palantir Technologies Inc. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the University of Florida. Originally from Florida, Olorunnipa Badejo lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and son.”
Funmi is the daughter of Prof Zachaeus Olorunnipa from Igbo-Bunu, Kabba-Bunu LGA of Kogi State. Her elder brother, Tolu Olorunnipa is currently the White House Correspondent for Washington Post.
She is the third Nigerian to be appointed into office by Biden.
