Senate Career
Musiliu Obanikoro was elected senator for Lagos Central in April 2003, running for the Alliance for Democracy (AD).During the election, each side accused the other of hijacking ballot boxes. He later defected to the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
He was appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo as a member of the 2004 Amirul-Hajj Committee.
In February 2005, Obanikoro was among senators who urged the African Union chairman, President Olusegun Obasanjo, to use military force if necessary to restore democracy in Togo.
As Senator, Musiliu Obanikoro proposed motions on the surge and overflow of the Atlantic Ocean along the Bar beach shoreline, to stop the incessant increment in the pump price of petroleum products, to protect Lagos State from the menace of flood, to probe into the condition of the velodrome at the National Stadium, Abuja and for the resolution of the clash between men of the Nigerian Police Force and men of the Nigerian Army in Lagos State]. He also sponsored several bills, calling for acts to regulate and control public Buildings, to regulate and control Dredging and Excavation of land, to provide for the Re-certification of Fuel Pumps, to prevent Casualisation in public and private Establishment and to amend the Federal Capital Territory Act.
During the flagging off of OPP (Obanikoro Priority Projects), hundreds of items were given out to his constituents, including motor bikes, milling machines, popcorn machines, sewing machines, assorted farming tools, telephone lines and phones, etc. In making education a priority, the Senator established the Senator Obanikoro Leadership and Education Project (SOLEP). Under this programme he supplied textbooks, notebooks, forms and scholarship funding.
He initiated an Urban renewal bill that is designed to give a face-lift to selected cities in Lagos. He set aside funds to help children and women who need financial assistance during surgery. Dozens of Lagosians have benefited from this fund. He is currently in partnership with a US-based NGO (AWHPI) to set up a mammogram centre that will enable women to test for breast cancer for free in Lagos.
In July 2006, Engineer Funsho Williams, who was seeking to become PDP candidate for the Lagos State governorship election, was murdered. Police investigating the case arrested all gubernatorial aspirants of the party including Musiliu Obanikoro, but were all later released for non involvement.
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