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Dapo Abiodun

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His Excellency
Dapo Abiodun
MFR
Governor of Ogun State
Assumed office
29 May 2019
DeputyNoimot Salako-Oyedele
Preceded byIbikunle Amosun
Personal details
Born
Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun

(1960-05-29) 29 May 1960 (age 64)
Iperu Remo, Western Region, British Nigeria (now in Ogun State, Nigeria)
Political partyAll Progressives Congress (APC)
Spouse
​
(m. 1990)​
Occupation
  • Politician
  • businessman

Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun MFR CON[1] ((Listenⓘ); born 29 May 1960) is a Nigerian businessman and politician, who has served as Governor of Ogun State since May 2019. Currently a member of the All Progressive Congress, Abiodun first entered politics during the aborted Abacha transition in 1998 and remained active in politics until being elected governor in 2019.[2]

Born in Iperu Remo in 1960, Abiodun eventually became an accountant for several years before entering business in the 1990s. Alongside his business career, Abiodun attempted to enter electoral politics and was the board chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission. Prior to his assumption of political office in 2019, he was the managing director of Heyden Petroleum and the founder of First Power Limited.[3][4][5] Abiodun was elected to his first term as governor by a small margin then was re-elected by a similarly slight margin in 2023.[6]

Early life

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Abiodun was born on 29 May 1960 in Iperu Remo, Ogun State, to the royal family of Iperu.[7] He was born into the family of Dr. Emmanuel Abiodun and Mrs. Victoria Abiodun from Iperu Remo, in Ogun East senatorial district.[7][8]

Abiodun attended Christ's School Ado Ekiti in 1972, St. Joseph's College, Ondo, in 1977, and later Ondo High School, in 1978.[9]

Abiodun studied Civil Engineering at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, Osun State, and in 1986 graduated with a BBA in Accounting from Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia.[10]

Career

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Abiodun began his professional journey as a Cost Accountant at Glock Inc. in USA from 1989 to 1991. Upon returning to Nigeria, he ventured into entrepreneurship and became the Chairman of Crestar Hydrocarbons Limited, OMS-Heyden Exploration and Production Limited, Heyden Petroleum Ltd (HPL), Alarmnet, Innovative Ventures Limited, and First Power Limited.[11][12] From 2012 to 2019, he was the Chairman of the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers' Association (DAPPMA).[13]

Public sector

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Abiodun's' political career started in 1998 when he contested and won the Ogun East Senatorial seat on the platform of the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party but the victory was truncated due to the aborted third republic.[9]

He later joined the Peoples Democratic Party in 1999 as a founding member on which platform he contested the primaries for the governorship ticket in Ogun State in 2002 where he emerged as the runner-up to the winner of the ticket, who eventually won in the general elections.

He contested in the 2015 general elections, representing the All Progressive Congress (APC) for Ogun East Senatorial District but was unsuccessful[14] and in 2018, he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Chairman of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)[15]

In 2019, he contested and won the governorship ticket of the APC in Ogun State general elections and became the 5th elected Governor of Ogun State.[16] Abiodun won 12 of the 20 local government areas.[17]

On assumption of office, the implementation of Building Our Future Together Agenda began and is anchored on Five Development Pillars codenamed I.S.E.Y.A (Infrastrcture, Social wellbeing and welfare, Education, Youth empowerment and job creation and Agriculture).[18]

In 2023, Abiodun released 49 prison inmates who had already served more than 20 years of their respective prison sentences. Some of the prisoners were either elderly or had health problems. He also commuted the death sentences for 3 prisoners to life imprisonment.[19]

On 8 March 2023, he was re-elected governor under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 Ogun State gubernatorial election defeating Ladi Adebutu of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Biyi Otegbeye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).[20][21]

Controversies

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See also: Pandora Papers

Ahead of the 2019 gubernatorial election, reporting from the TheCable detailed the alleged falsification of Abiodun's certificates by noting the discrepancies between Abiodun's sworn documentation from his Senate candidacy in 2015, the sworn documentation from gubernatorial candidacy, and his company website bio.[22] The discrepancies put Abiodun's eligibility under question, as doubts about if Abiodun had completed the mandatory year of National Youth Service Corps service led to legal challenges to his candidacy.[23] In his defense, Abiodun stated that he had never claimed to finish his degree at the University of Ife and attempted to dismiss the controversy as political "mudslinging."[24] Nevertheless, the challenges to Abiodun's candidacy continued after the election with tribunal proceedings largely dominated by attempts to contest the veracity of Abiodun's documentation.[25] In its ruling affirming Abiodun's victory, the tribunal stated that the petitions failed to prove that Abiodun had committed certificate fraud.[26]

As a result of the Pandora Papers leaks, the Premium Times reported on Abiodun's involvement in two offshore companies known tax haven, the British Virgin Islands. The report noted that Abiodun owned and was the sole director of both Marlowes Trading Corporation and Heyden Petroleum Limited in apparent violation of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act as neither company was declared when Abiodun was elected governor. Abiodun himself avoided questions on the topic but an associate of Abiodun claimed that the governor had meant to dissolve the companies but didn't notice that they had not been dissolved yet.[27][28]

In 2022, Sahara Reporters published the criminal record of Abiodun's arrested in 1986 for credit card fraud, petty theft, and check forgery in addition to injuring a police officer in an attempt to resist arrest in Miami-Dade County in the United States under the pseudonym "Shawn Michael Davids."[29][30] Although the arrest had been previously exposed — with it being included in the challenge to Abiodun's candidacy in 2019 – however, the documentation had not been released publicly. Abiodun allies and lawyers claimed that the arrest could not impact his eligibility to run for office.[31][32]

Awards

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Abiodun has obtained a variety of awards as a governor, some of which include:

  • 2021 Best State Governor with the Most Improved State in Security Infrastructure by Business Day Newspaper[33]
  • 2020 Best Governor in Agriculture by the Nigerian Agriculture Awards (NAA)[34]
  • 2022 Best Governor in Infrastructure in the South West by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) B zone[35]
  • 2022 Forbes Award as the Best of Africa Governor in Industrial Revolution[36]
  • 2023 Best Governor in Housing Delivery by the Nigerian Housing Award[37]

Personal life

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Abiodun is married to his childhood sweetheart, Bamidele, and they have five children.[38][39]

In 2017, their son, Gbemiga Abiodun (also known as DJ Olu) who was 25, was found dead in his car along with a friend. The cause of death is not known.[40]

In October 2023 Abiodun set up a scholarship scheme for 550 students in memory of his son.[41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Media, Penpushing (28 May 2023). "All Progressives Congress felicitates Governor Abiodun on Commander of the Order of Niger award". PENPUSHING. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. ^ "The new governors-elect in Southwest". The Nation. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Dapo Abiodun, APC Ogun guber candidate, in certificate scandal". The Cable.
  4. ^ Daud, Olatunji. "Why I want to succeed Amosun in 2019– Dapo Abiodun". Vanguard.
  5. ^ "Ogun State Governor". nggovernorsforum.org. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  6. ^ admin (25 June 2020). "ALL GOVERNORS OF OGUN STATE". Glimpse Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b Patrick, Okohue (22 May 2019). "Dapo Abiodun set to end divisive, sectional governance in Ogun". Daily Times. Lagos. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Nigeria: 5 things to know about Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State Governor". The Africa Report.com. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Dapo Abiodun Biography (Career, Business, Politics)". Naijabiography Media. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  10. ^ "PROFILE: Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria [2019 –]". premiumtimesng. Premium Times. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  11. ^ https://www.premiumtimesng.com/profiles/438400-profile-dapo-abiodun-governor-of-ogun-state-nigeria-2019.html?tztc=1
  12. ^ admin (14 January 2017). "About Dapo Abiodun's New Dream". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  13. ^ Admin. "Petroleum marketers threaten to shut operations in two days". Vangaurd.
  14. ^ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/acourt-upholds-kashamus-election/
  15. ^ "Glad Tidings! Dapo Abiodun Becomes CAC Chairman". TheCapital. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  16. ^ Ajayi, John (3 November 2021). "Dapo Abiodun: Boardroom guru as a political tactician". TheCable. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  17. ^ Ayinla, Razaq. "INEC declares Dapo Abiodun winner of Ogun guber poll". Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  18. ^ Somorin, Kunle (21 May 2023). "Roadmap to Gov Abiodun's second term". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  19. ^ Akinlotan, Olasunkanmi. "Inauguration: Gov Abiodun frees 49 prisoners, commutes death sentence". Premium Times. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  20. ^ Erezi, Dennis (19 March 2023). "2023 election: Dapo Abiodun declared winner of Ogun governorship election". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  21. ^ Nwachukwu, John Owen (19 March 2023). "APC's Dapo Abiodun wins Ogun governorship election". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  22. ^ Adebulu, Taiwo. "EXCLUSIVE: Dapo Abiodun, APC Ogun guber candidate, in certificate scandal". TheCable. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  23. ^ Ogundipe, Samuel. "Ogun APC governorship candidate Dapo Abiodun in certificate scandal, risks disqualification". Premium Times. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  24. ^ Ewodage, Rejoice. "I Never Claimed To Have Gotten A Degree From OAU – Dapo Abiodun". Channels TV. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  25. ^ Olatunji, Daud (20 July 2023). "Ogun tribunal: WAEC fails to tender Abiodun's certificate copy". The Punch. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  26. ^ Ogunnaike, James. "Ogun Guber: Tribunal affirms Gov Abiodun's victory". Vanguard. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  27. ^ Olawoyin, Oladeinde. "PANDORA PAPERS: Inside Governor Dapo Abiodun's secret businesses, foreign account". Premium Times. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  28. ^ OLAWOYIN, Oladeinde. "Pandora Papers: Inside Governor Dapo Abiodun's secret businesses, foreign account". ICIR. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  29. ^ Reporters, Sahara (25 March 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: How Ogun Governor, Dapo Abiodun Was Jailed For Credit Card Fraud In Florida, USA". Sahara Reporters. New York. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  30. ^ Akintade, Adefemola. "I was arrested for fraud in U.S., but APC cannot disqualify me in 2023: Dapo Abiodun". Gazettengr. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  31. ^ Akinlotan, Olasunkanmi. "Abiodun arrested in U.S., not convicted, Ogun ex-lawmaker says". Premium Times. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  32. ^ Babalola, Ayoola (9 May 2022). "Dapo Abiodun charged for assaulting police officer, Secret Service agent in fraud case: Miami Police Department". Peoples Gazette. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  33. ^ Nigeria, Guardian (2 May 2021). "Abiodun wins BusinessDay's security, agriculture awards". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  34. ^ Adeniyi, Ifetayo (3 December 2020). "Gov. Abiodun Receives Governor Of The Year 2020 | Megastar Magazine → Celebrating People, Business & Events". Megastar Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  35. ^ Staff, Daily Post (6 October 2022). "NUJ Awards: Gov. Abiodun Bags Best South West Governor in Infrastructural Development". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  36. ^ Nigeria, Guardian (15 January 2023). "Forbes award, motivation for more service — Abiodun". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  37. ^ Ayinla, Razaq (20 April 2023). "Ogun beats Lagos, Kaduna, others to bag best state award in housing". Businessday NG. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Father Of DJ Olu, Mourns Late Son". Sahara Reporters. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  39. ^ "PROFILE: Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State, Nigeria [2019 --] | Premium Times Nigeria". 24 January 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  40. ^ Igboanugo, Ada. "Davido bereaved again, friend DJ Olu found dead in his car". The Cable. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  41. ^ "Scholarship: 'It is for indigent learners' — Gov Abiodun immortalises late son". Vanguard. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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