John Gaul Lebo (born 15 March 1972) is a Nigerian lawyer and former legislator in Cross River State. He served as a two-term member and Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, representing the Abi Constituency. He is married to Barr Binta Gaul Lebo and they have three children.
Education Lebo attended St. Bernard's Primary School Ibalebo, Adadama Abi, and obtained his WASSCE from St. Brendan's Secondary School, Iyamoyong, in Obubra. He studied law at the University of Calabar, Nigeria, graduating with a LL.B. in 1996. In 1997, he was admitted to the Nigerian Law School and qualified as a Barrister at Law and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1998. He holds diplomas in business advisory services, strategic planning, and management from Regenesys Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa. He also has an Executive Master's degree in Business Administration from the Dubai Business School at the Dubai World Trade Centre; an International Diploma in Climate Change Law from the Institute of Parliamentary and Political Law in London; and a Master's degree in International Economic Law. Lebo attended the 2017 Special Selected (G65) Emerging Leaders Executive Leadership Course at the Kennedy School of Harvard University, where he specialized in Decision Science. He completed his Harvard University Decision Science fellowship program focusing on Reinvented Service Delivery and became an alumnus of the Kennedy School of Harvard University in November 2017. Lebo lectured in law at the University of Abuja and served as the managing editor of Law Reports of Nigeria. His firm, Gaul-Gate Law, was involved in introducing ICT law reporting at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Political career In 2007, he was appointed to the legal team of Cross River State and served as a member of its transition committee. In 2011, Lebo contested and won the election to represent the Abi local government area in the Cross River State House of Assembly. He was elected Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly on 10 June 2015. He served as the pioneer chairman of the People's Democratic Party (Nigeria) Speakers' Forum and Secretary of the Speakers' Forum Ad-Hoc Committee on the constitutional amendment of Nigeria. On 10 May 2024, Lebo announced his departure from the PDP, according to a letter addressed to the ward chairman of the party in Adadama Council Ward, Adadama, Abi local government area of Cross River State.
Legislative career As a member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Lebo sponsored several key private members' bills, including legislation to establish the Songhai Farms in Itigidi, create the Cross River State College of Nursing in Abi, and extend the CRS BODERCOM law to benefit seven communities in Abi. He has also demonstrated a strong commitment to education and youth empowerment by awarding scholarships to students from Abi and sponsoring skills training for indigenes at the CBN Enterprise Development Center in Calabar. Lebo has represented Cross River State at various high-level international forums, including the 46th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association African Region Meeting in Nairobi (2015), the United Nations General Assembly in New York (February 2015), the Marrakech World Climate Change Conference (COP22) in November 2016, and the World Government Summit in Dubai (February 2017).
Academic memberships Lebo is an alumnus and fellow of the following institutions:
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Fellow, Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria, ISMN Fellow, Chartered Management Institute, FCMI Fellow, Institute of Corporate Management, FICM Fellow, Chartered Institute of Project Management CIPM Alumnus, Kennedy School of Harvard University, Harvard University, Boston Alumnus, Regenesys Business School, Johannesburg, South Africa
Honors and awards
In February 2017, Lebo received an award from the Ghana Civilian Institute of Administration. He was invited to participate in the 5th session of the World Government Summit in 2017. That same year, he received the Nnamdi Azikiwe Zik Prize for best state legislature leadership in Nigeria.
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