Individual Profiles
Dapo Abiodun biography, net worth, career achievements
In this piece, News360 Nigeria details the biography and career achievements of Gov. Adedapo Abiodun.
Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun, MFR is the current Governor of Ogun State.
He is a businessman and CEO of First Power Ltd. He is an All Progressives Congress member who enjoys playing cards.
Profile overview
Name: Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun, MFR
Date of birth: May 29th, 1960
State of Origin: Ogun, Nigeria
Education: Obafemi Awolowo University
Religion: Christianity
Spouse: Bamidele Oduye
Career: Business, Politics
Political party: All Progressives Congress
Birth
Dapo Abiodun was born in Iperu Remo, Ogun State, on May 29, 1960.
Education
Before pursuing his secondary education at Joseph’s College in Ondo State, he completed his elementary education at Christ’s School in Ado Ekiti in 1972.
In 1978, he finished his secondary education at Info High School as well.
He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife with a degree in civil engineering.
Additionally, he graduated from Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia, with a BBA in accounting.
Career
Abiodun established First Power Ltd. and serves as chairman of Heyden Petroleum Ltd., an oil and gas business.
He ventured into politics and was chosen to serve as the United Nigeria Congress party’s senator for Ogun East in 1998.
In 1999, he became a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and it was under this platform that he ran in the Ogun State governorship primary in 2002, finishing second to the eventual winner of the ticket who won the general elections.
After running unsuccessfully for the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections in the Ogun East Senatorial District, he was named Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.
In the 2019 Ogun State general elections, he ran on the APC’s governorship ticket and won, making history as the state’s fifth elected governor. Abiodun won 12 of the 20 local government areas.
Following his victory, the Building Our Future Together Agenda was put into action. It is based on the Five Development Pillars, or I.S.E.Y.A. (Infrastrcture, Social wellbeing and welfare, Education, Youth empowerment and job creation, and Agriculture).
Abiodun released 49 prisoners in 2023, each having completed more than 20 years of their respective prison terms. A number of the inmates suffered from health issues or were elderly. Additionally, he commuted three inmates’ death sentences to life in prison.
In the 2023 Ogun gubernatorial election, he was re-elected on March 8, 2023, under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He defeated Biyi Otegbeye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Ladi Adebutu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Private life
Dapo was raised in a Christian home by his parents, Mrs. Victoria Abiodun and Dr. Emmanuel Abiodun.
He is married to Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, and the two of them have kids together.
In addition, Dapo Abiodun is the head of a nonprofit organization that was established in honor of his late son with the express intent of helping the underprivileged.
Controversies
The Cable claimed in 2018 that Abiodun was complicit in the falsification of certificates.
The Premium Times revealed Abiodun’s involvement in two offshore companies that are known to be tax havens in the British Virgin Islands as a result of the Pandora Papers leaks.
According to the report, Abiodun owned and served as the only director of Heyden Petroleum Limited and Marlowes Trading Corporation, both of which were in apparent violation of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act because Abiodun was elected governor before either company was registered.
According to one of Abiodun’s associates who chose to remain anonymous, the governor meant to dissolve the companies but overlooked the fact that they had not yet been dissolved.
In 2022, Sahara Reporters made public the criminal record of Abiodun’s 1986 arrest in Miami Dade, Florida, USA, under the alias “Shawn Michael Davids,” for credit card fraud, petty theft, check forgery, and fighting and injuring a police officer in an attempt to resist arrest. Abiodun’s jail number at the time was 8600B9436.
Net worth
Dapo Abiodun has an estimated net worth of about $314 million.
Awards
As a governor, Abiodun has won numerous honors, including the following:
- According to Business Day Newspaper, the 2021 Best State Governor with the Most Improved State in Security Infrastructure is 2027
- 2020 Best Governor in Agriculture by the Nigerian Agriculture Awards (NAA)
- Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Nigeria, 2022 B zone The Best Governor for Infrastructure
- The 2022 Forbes Award for the Best African Governor in the Industrial Revolution.
- The Nigerian Housing Award’s 2023 Best Governor in Housing Delivery.