Who is Dapo Abiodun? Biography, Wikipedia
Prince Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun, popularly known as Prince Dapo Abiodun, is a Nigerian businessman and politician.
He is the current governor of Ogun state, elected in 2019 and seeking reelection for a second term in 2023.
Age
Dapo Abiodun was born on May 29, 1960. May 29, for many years, was Nigeria’s Democracy Day until President Muhammadu Buhari moved it to June 12. 1960 was the year Nigeria gained its independence from the British Empire.
Going by his date of birth, Dapo Abiodun is currently 62 years old and would be 63-year-old by May 29, 2023.
Tribe
Dapo was born at Iperu Remo, Ogun state.
Family
Parents
Dapo Abiodun’s parents are Dr. Emmanuel Abiodun (father) and Mrs. Victoria Abiodun (mother).
Wife
He is married to Bamidele Abiodun. They got married in 1990.
Bamidele Abiodun, the first lady of Ogun state, was born on 16 July 1966 to the family of Professor Oladipo Oduye, a former deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and the late Mrs Abimbola Wosilat Oduye both from Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.
She attended The International School, Ibadan for her secondary education and then obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology from The University of Ibadan in 1988
Children
Dapo Abiodun and his wife, Bamidele, have five children including the late Olugbenga Abiodun, a Nigerian DJ also known as DJ Olu.
Religion
He is a born-again Christian and worships with the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry.
Education
Dapo Abiodun attended different schools during his early years due to the movement pattern of his parents.
He attended Christ’s School Ado Ekiti in 1972; St. Joseph’s College, Ondo, in 1977; and later Ondo High School, in 1978.
He studied civil engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Osun State, and subsequently, Accounting at Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, United States of America (USA), where he graduated with a BBA in Accounting in 1986.
He also holds a Honours et Doctorate Degree in Finance from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State and another in Business Administration from Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State.
Summary of Dapo Abiodun’s education
- Christ’s School Ado Ekiti in 1972
- St. Joseph’s College, Ondo, in 1977
- Ondo High School, in 1978
- Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Osun State
- Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, United States
Professional career
Dapo Abiodun began his career with Glock Inc. USA as Cost Accountant and worked between 1989-1991.
He would later return to Nigeria where he served on the boards of different companies.
He was Chairman and/or Chief Executive of Crestar Hydrocarbons Limited, OMS-Heyden Exploration and Production Limited, Heyden Petroleum Limited, Alarmnet and Innovative Ventures Limited, and First Power Limited.
He also served as a member of various Presidential Committees like the Presidential Think Tank set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001.
He was appointed Chairman, Oil and Gas Committee of Ogun State in 2009 and served as Chairman of Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers Association (DAPPMA) from 2012 till 2019.
He is the managing director/CEO of Heyden Petroleum Ltd [HPL], an indigenous player in Nigeria’s downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas industry.
Dapo Abiodun is also reportedly the founder of First Power Limited.
Political career
Abiodun is a founding member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, although he is currently a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) defecting after the 2015 general elections.
He contested the Ogun East senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 Nigerian general elections which he lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.
Dapo Abiodun was elected a Federal Republic of Nigeria senator on the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) platform in 1998.
He tried representing the Ogun East senatorial district again in 2015 but was defeated by late Buruju Kashamu.
In 2019, he contested in the gubernatorial elections in Ogun state and won, under the All Progressive Congress (APC) platform.
He was sworn in as Governor of Ogun State on 29 May 2019.
Controversy
Allegedly forged certificate
A report by The Cable in 2018 accused Abiodun of perjury over his post-secondary school qualifications.
The report argued that when he (Abiodun) he ran as the APC senatorial candidate (Ogun east) in 2015, he claimed to have attended the University of Ife, Ile-Ife (graduating in 1986) and Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, US (1989) in his INEC form CF001, backed by an affidavit he swore to at the high court, Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Curiously, while he listed B.B.A. (hons) accounting as the degree he got in 1986 as at then, he was silent on what he studied at Kennesaw State University.
However, in his official curriculum vitae, he claimed to possess another degree, B.Eng (hons) in civil engineering, presumably received in 1989 from the American university.
Also, on the website of Heyden Petroleum Limited where Abiodun is MD/CEO, underneath his name were listed B.Sc civil engineering and BBA accounting.
If he proceeded immediately to Kennesaw after graduating from Ife in 1986, he would not have finished before 1990 as civil engineering is a four-year course at the university.
It also added that there are strong suspicions that he did not do the compulsory national youth service, even though he finished his first degree in 1986 — going by the INEC form CF001 that he filled out ahead of the 2015 election, supported by an affidavit.
Abiodun was born on May 29, 1960, and was 26 in 1986 when he claimed to have finished his first degree. The age limit for national service is 30.
Apart from the possibility of having committed perjury either in 2014 or 2018, there is also the possibility that he skipped the compulsory national service, which is punishable under the law.
Secret businesses, foreign account
A Pandora Papers report by Premium Times in 2021 claimed that in clear contravention of extant laws, Dapo Abiodun, the executive governor of Ogun State, is director of at least two offshore companies while also operating a foreign account.
The report found that the companies were not made public in the asset declaration form by Abiodun upon assumption of office as Ogun State governor in 2019, in clear contravention of the constitution’s provisions.
Jailed for credit card fraud
In March 2022, Sahara Reporters published a report that revealed Dapo Abiodun was jailed in 1986 for credit card fraud, petty theft and check forgery in Miami Dade, Florida, USA.
He was arrested on November 7, 1986, for fighting and injuring a police officer in an attempt to resist arrest.
While being processed at the station, his fingerprint was run through the crime database and it was discovered that the Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun being processed for detention was the same as Shawn Michael Davids.
His criminal record and history were thus cemented, and he was jailed.
According to documents obtained by SaharaReporters, Abiodun’s jail number was 8600B9436.
Ibikunle Amosun Vs Dapo Abiodun
The former governor of Ogun state, Ibikunle Amosun, has never been in support of his successor (Dapo Abiodun).
He worked against him during the 2019 elections and still doing the same ahead of the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Despite being an APC chieftain, Amosun supported the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Biyi Otegbeye, who hails from Ilaro in Ogun West Senatorial District.
In a rally held at Ake Palace Ground in Abeokuta, the state capital, Amosun, who raised up Otegbeye’s hand, said: “This is my anointed candidate, I’m APC, but for the governorship election, I’m going to support, I’m going to work assiduously for the candidature of Biyi Otegbeye and his deputy, Tunde Awonuga.”
Dapo Abiodun, however, in 2018 stated that despite the fact that Ibikunle Amosun, did not support his senatorial ambition in 2015, he backed Amosun’s reelection bid with $1 million and also donated N10 million each to the 11 House of Assembly candidates of the party.
Eleyi of Ogun state
The president-elect and presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during his campaign ahead of the party’s primary in Ogun state boasted about playing a major role in seeing to the emergence of Abiodun as governor of the state.
Tinubu had referred to Abiodun as “eleyi”, which means “this one” in English. It is sometimes used condescendingly in terms of a person’s worth.
“’Eleyi’ [This one (referring to Abiodun)] that is sitting down here, could he have become governor without me? We were all in the stadium where they tore all the posters. Even the candidacy of the party, they didn’t want to give it to him,” the APC presidential candidate had said in Yoruba.
“It’s been over 25 years that I have been serving them. This one sitting at my back, Dapo, could he have become a governor if not for me?”
Disclaimer
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