Fred Agbedi

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Frederick Yeitiemone Agbedi (born February 20, 1960) is a Nigerian educationist and politician from Bayelsa State. He is regarded as one of the state’s founding figures and helped push for Bayelsa’s creation as a separate state.

Agbedi currently serves in the Nigerian Federal House of Representatives, representing the Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency. He was first elected in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019, sitting with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Education and early career
He was born in Aghoro, a coastal community in Ekeremor Local Government Area. He attended local schools and earned an Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) majoring in English and History from the College of Education, Warri. He later earned a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in English from the University of Port Harcourt and a Master of Science in Public Administration from the University of Abuja. Agbedi worked as a teacher and held several public service roles before entering full-time politics.

Political life
Agbedi began active politics in the early 1990s with the National Republican Convention (NRC) and later joined the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP). He then joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), taking on various leadership roles, including Bayelsa State PDP Chairman from 2005 to 2007. He helped lead PDP campaigns that brought Timipre Sylva to the Bayelsa governorship, but later had a falling out and was removed from the chair in 2008.

He was the Director General of Siriake Dickson’s governorship campaigns in 2012 and 2015, helping Dickson win both elections. He also served as a senior adviser on political matters to Governor Dickson in 2012. Agbedi resigned that position in 2014 to contest the Sagbama/Ekeremor seat, which he won in 2015 and again in 2019.

Governor ambitions
Agbedi has twice sought the governorship of Bayelsa State (in 2011 and 2019) but was not elected. In 2019, he declared himself highly qualified to lead Bayelsa, while a zoning debate over which region should produce the next governor was ongoing. He also faced competition within the PDP, including the nomination of Douye Diri, which was disputed by some party members.