Abiodun Adedapo Oluseun

Abiodun Adedapo Oluseun (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 Progressives Congress, Abiodun first entered politics during the aborted Abacha transition in 1998 and remained active in politics until being elected governor in 2019.

Born in Iperu, Ogun State in 1960, Abiodun eventually became an accountant for several years before entering business in the 1990s. Alongside his business career, Abiodun entered 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.

Abiodun was elected to his first term as governor by a small margin. He was re-elected by a similarly slight margin in 2023. Abiodun was born on 29 May 1960 in Iperu, 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 graduated with a BBA in Accounting from Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986.

Abiodun began his professional journey as a Cost Accountant at Glock Inc. in the 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.

From 2012 to 2019, he was the Chairman of the Depot and Petroleum Product Marketers' Association (DAPPMA). 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, though this victory was truncated due to the aborted third republic. He later joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999.

On the PDP platform, he contested the primaries for the governorship ticket in Ogun State in 2002, emerging as the runner-up. He contested in the 2015 general elections for the APC’s Ogun East Senatorial District but was unsuccessful. In 2018, he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

In 2019, Abiodun contested and won the governorship ticket of the APC in Ogun State general elections, becoming the fifth elected Governor of Ogun State. He won 12 of the 20 local government areas. The Building Our Future Together Agenda was implemented, anchored on Five Development Pillars (I.S.E.Y.A): Infrastructure, Social Well-being and Welfare, Education, Youth Empowerment, Job Creation, and Agriculture.

In 2023, Abiodun released 49 prison inmates who had served over 20 years and commuted death sentences to life imprisonment for three prisoners. In March 2023, he was re-elected governor under the APC, defeating Ladi Adebutu (PDP) and Biyi Otegbeye (ADC).

Prior to his 2019 election, reports highlighted discrepancies in Abiodun’s certificates, including doubts about his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service and alleged falsification of documents. The tribunal affirmed his victory, stating the petitions failed to prove fraud. The Pandora Papers revealed offshore companies (British Virgin Islands) owned by Abiodun, violating the Code of Conduct Bureau’s regulations, though he avoided questioning the matter.

In 2022, Sahara Reporters published his 1986 arrest record in the U.S. for credit card fraud, petty theft, check forgery, and resisting arrest. Though previously referenced in his 2019 candidacy challenges, this documentation was not publicly released. Abiodun’s allies and lawyers claimed this did not impact his eligibility. Abiodun has received awards, including Best State Governor in Security Infrastructure (2021), Best Governor in Agriculture (2020), and Best Governor in Housing Delivery (2023).

Married to his childhood sweetheart, Bamidele, Abiodun has five children. In 2017, their son, Gbemiga Abiodun (DJ Olu), was found dead in his car, and in October 2023, he established a scholarship scheme for 550 students in memory of his son.