Pio Tikoduadua

Lt Col Pio Tikoduadua (born 12 September 1966) is a Fijian politician, Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and former cabinet Minister. He is a member of the National Federation Party.

Pio Tikoduadua
Tikoduadua in 2018
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
In office
25 September 2014 – 11 May 2015
Personal details
Born (1966-09-12) 12 September 1966
Nakorovou, Namalata, Tailevu
NationalityFijian
Spouse(s)Sereana Cagileba (1998-)
Children1 son, 1 daughter

Early life and military career

Tikoduadua was born in Namalata, Tailevu and raised by his single mother, Senoveva Ranadi. He attended primary school at Natovi and Saint Vincent College as well as St John's College in Levuka.[1] He joined the Republic of Fiji Military Forces cadet training school with the current RFMF Commander, Brigadier-General Mosese Tikoitoga. He also worked as an interpreter in the local courts to gain experience. He was educated at multiple universities including University of New South Wales, the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies in Canberra and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, reaching the rank of Lieutenant colonel after graduating from the Australian Defence Force Command and Staff College in 2006. As a military officer, he has served in Lebanon, Egypt, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. He has also held several leadership roles before becoming Chief Of Staff: Operations at the RFMF. Following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état he was one of a number of military officers appointed to senior public service positions. He was initially appointed as Permanent Secretary of Justice,[2] and in 2008 as Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's office.[3][4]

FijiFirst and Cabinet

In June 2014, Tikoduadua resigned as permanent secretary to pursue a career in politics, joining the FijiFirst party.[5] He was elected in the 2014 election, in which he won 3,611 votes.[6] He was appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in September 2014.[7] On May 11, 2015, he resigned as Minister due to his failing health as he suffers from an advanced form of cancer and wanted to spend time with his family and his people in Delasui, Tailevu.[8] Assistant Minister for Education, Vijay Nath was then appointed as the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.[9]

National Federation Party

In April 2017, he returned to politics, joining the National Federation Party. He expressed doubts about the actions of the military regime, including its rewriting of the constitution in 2013,[3] and claimed that he resigned from FijiFirst after MP Dr Neil Sharma was forced to resign after voting against the government on a matter of conscience.[10] In June 2017, he was appointed the NFP President.[11]

He ran as a candidate for the NFP in the 2018 elections and was elected,[12] winning 2684 votes.

In August 2019 Tikoduadua was assaulted by Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama after a parliamentary debate.[13] The assault was captured on video,[14] and was subsequently referred to the Fijian Parliament's Privileges Committee.[15] he committee found that there was no assault, and that the two parties should apologise to each other for verbally attacking one another in parliament.[16] When Tikoduadua refused to do so he was suspended from Parliament for six weeks.[17] A police complaint for assault resulted in no charges being laid as it was a matter for parliament.[18][19] Two parliamentary staff who had videoed the assault were forced to resign.[20]

In April 2020 Tikoduadua was arrested for sharing a video exposing brutality by Fijian Police over Facebook.[21] No charges were laid against him,[22] and five police officers were later charged over the assault he exposed.[23]

gollark: Well, as God, I do.
gollark: Being against those who support dissolution of the establishment.
gollark: Sold at a loss to make back money on games.
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gollark: No, silica is silicon dioxide, I think.

References
  1. "Tikoduadua: Let's Strive Together To Better The Lives Of All Fijians". Fiji Sun. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  2. Firth, Stewart; Fraenkel, Jon (2009). "The Fiji military and ethno-nationalism: Analyzing the paradox". In Jon Fraenkel; Stewart Firth; Brij V. Lal (eds.). The 2006 Military Takeover in Fiji: A Coup to End All Coups?. ANU E Press. p. 128.
  3. "Former Fiji minister reveals doubts over constitution". RNZ. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  4. "Permanent Secretary Prime Ministers Office and Auditor General appointed". Fijian Government. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  5. Kotoiwasawasa, Vosita (29 July 2014). "Tikoduadua resigns to contest election". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  6. "2014 Election Results". Fiji Elections Office. Archived from the original on 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  7. "20-member Cabinet announced". FBC. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
  8. "Fiji Minister resigns due to ill health". Radio NZ. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  9. Pratap, Ritika. "Assistant ministers appointed". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  10. Losirene Lacanivalu (2017-04-16). "PM Responds To Tikoduadua's New Reasons For Resignation In 2015". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
  11. "Tikoduadua: I Am Honoured | Fiji Sun". fijisun.com.fj. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
  12. Talebula Kate (18 November 2018). "2018 General Election: NFP trio to join Opposition". Fiji Times. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  13. Arvind Kumar (9 August 2019). "MP claims Fiji Prime Minister assaulted him, Bainimarama refutes allegations". Stuff. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  14. "Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama filmed shoving rival politician in Parliament's car park". ABC. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  15. "Fiji PM and Opposition MP referred to Privileges Committee". RNZ. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  16. "Bainimarama apologises to Pio Tikoduadua". Indian Newslink. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  17. "Fiji opposition MP suspended for refusing to apologise to PM". Asia-Pacific Report. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  18. Arvind Kumar (17 October 2019). "Case closed: No charges to be laid against Bainimarama in relation to assault of MP". Stuff. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  19. Kate Lyon (17 October 2019). "Fiji PM Bainimarama won't face assault charges over carpark tussle with MP". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  20. "Fiji parliament staff made to resign over video of PM's shove". RNZ. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  21. "Fiji opposition figure arrested over Facebook post". RNZ. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  22. "Fiji DPP drops case against opposition MP Pio Tikodudua". RNZ. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  23. "Five Fiji police officers charged over bridge assault". RNZ. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
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