Dapo Abiodun

Adedapo Oluseun Abiodun (born 29 May 1960) is a Nigerian businessman and politician, who has served as Governor of Ogun State since 2019.

Abiodun was born on 29 May 1960 in Iperu Remo, Ogun State, to the royal family of Iperu.

He was born into the family of Dr. Emmanuel Abiodun and Mrs. Victoria Abiodun from Iperu Remo, in Ogun East senatorial district.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

From 2012 to 2019, he was the Chairman of the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers' Association (DAPPMA)

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

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.

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

In 2018, the TheCable alleged that Abiodun was involved in certificate forgery.

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.

In 2022, Sahara Reporters published the criminal record of how Abiodun was jailed in 1986 with jail number 8600B9436 for credit card fraud, petty theft, check forgery and fighting and injuring a police officer in an attempt to resist arrest in Miami Dade Florida, USA under the pseudonym "Shawn Michael Davids".

Abiodun is married to his childhood sweetheart, Bamidele, and they have five children.

He won the 2019 general elections under the platform of the All Progressive Congress.

He was the board Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Prior to his assumption of office, he was the managing director of Heyden Petroleum and the founder of First Power Limited.

On 10 March 2019, he was declared Governor-Elect of Ogun State by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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.

Abiodun won 12 of the 20 local government areas.

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).

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.

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).